Edited by Azizi Powell
For some reason, my cultural webssite cocojams.com is inaccessible. That website was launched in 2001 and has (had?) a TON of material on English language playground rhymes, singing game, and cheers. In addition, Cocojams.com also featured (?) examples of civil rights songs, 19th century African American dance songs, fraternity and sorority cheers, stomp and shake cheerleading cheers, and a whole lot more.
I admit to panicking yesterday morning when I tried to visit cocojams.com and got the message that "Sorry, We could not find cocojams.com. It may be unavailable or may not exist."
And then I really panicked when I couldn't reach cocojams.com's the internet hosting company (which isn't affiliated with Google blogspot). But I calmed down somewhat when I remembered that I have some [but not all] back-up files of those pages and I remembered that I had published a considerable amount of Cocojams material on this pancocojams blog and in discussion threads on Mudcat folk music forum.
And so, while I wait to see if cocojams.com will reappear and wait to see if I will hear from that hosting company [!!??!!], I decided to launch a Google blog that is an off-shoot of cocojams which I've named "cocojam2".
Cocojams2 will be more streamlined than cocojams.com, as it will only feature examples of playground rhymes, and probably won't include as many categories of those rhymes. Other cocojams content will be republished on my pancocojams blog (http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/ and possibly on future cocojams numbered Google blogs.
Cocojams2 also won't feature as many versions of rhymes, and won't include any videos, text analysis, or editorial commentary. Instead, I'll continue publishing videos (when possible), text analysis, and editorial comments along with any examples of that material that I feature on pancocojams.
Here's a link to cocojams2:
http://cocojams2.blogspot.com/
and here's a link to that blog's first post which expands on what I've written in this post:
http://cocojams2.blogspot.com/2014/10/introducing-cocojams2-offshoot-of.html.
I hope that you'll visit cocojams2, and share that link with others who may be interested in the cultural material that was (or is) featured on cocojams.com.
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Monday, October 27, 2014
"Let's Go Way Back In God" (Apostolic Gospel song with lyrics)
Edited by Azizi Powell
This post provides two video examples and lyrics to the Gospel song "Let's Go Way Back In God".
The content of this post is presented for religious and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to the composer of this songs. Thanks also to all who are featured in these recordings and thanks to the publishers of these examples on YouTube.
Note: This isn't the same Gospel song as "Let Us Go Way Back To God" that was recorded by Sam Cooke & The Soul Stirrers
A sound file of that song can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNAZ_rVDH2A
****
LYRIC PATTERN FOR THIS SONG
I've found two different lyric patterns for this song. I'm not sure which one is the oldest. I've labeled these as Pattern A and Pattern B.
Pattern A
1. Chorus [sing 4x]
2. Verse structure with response:
__ (a noun associated with church) don't __(a verb associated with church) like they used to (same verb)
Sing: Way back in God
Repeat first line Way back in God
Example:
Choir don't sing like they use to sing
Way back in God
Choir don't sing like they use to sing
Way back in God
3. Chorus [4x]
[Repeat this pattern.]
****
Pattern B
1.`Chorus [4x]
2. Sing a verse from an old Gospel song/hymn. Repeat same verse one time.
3. Sing chorus [4x]
4. Sing verse from another old Gospel song/hymn. Repeat same verse one time.
6. Sing chorus [4x]
[Repeat this two part pattern as many times as you wish].
7. Sing verse structure with response as found in Part A.
8. Sing chorus
[Repeat that pattern as many times as you wish.]
****
FEATURED EXAMPLES
Editor's Note:
It just so happens that both of these songs were sung during a church offering [when money is collected for the church upkeep and/or other church work such as "missionary services".]
Uptempo songs are usually sung for church offerrings, even if ushers pass the plate row by row instead of rows of congregants walking (or marching) to the front of the church altar to put their money into a designated offerring plate.r
Example #1: Let's Go Way Back ~ Offering Time ~ 2011 GLC Youth Conference
gospellight684, Uploaded on Jun 11, 2011
Love vs Confidence @ 2011 GLC Youth Conference
-snip-
This comment was written in response to the question "Where is this church located" and the song's lyrics were posted in this video's discussion thread:
NewMercies02, Sep 2, 2011
"@Mysinsaregone The church is located in Newark, New Jersey.
Lyrics
Chorus:
Lets go way back , way back in god
lets go way back, way back in god
lets go way back, way back in god
The people don't sing like they used to sing, way back in god
The people don't sing like they used to sing, way back in god
chorus
The people don't pray like they used to pray, way back in god
The people don't pray like they used to pray, way back in god.
Its a praise and worship song, u can really add any lyrics u want."
-snip-
This is Pattern A for this song.
Note the comment that there are no fixed verses for this song.
One commenter wrote that this service is "like a real Jamaican church". Another commenter wrote that she remembered that song from a church in Cuba.
****
Example #2: Lets Go Way Back in God
Bethelapost Church Published on Jul 17, 2013 [Bethel Apostolic Church]
The Voices of the Overcomers, The Ambassadors and Kids in Praise ministering at Congress 2013, second night, July 17, 2013
Bethel Apostolic church
-snip-
****
LYRICS: LET'S GO WAY BACK IN GOD
(composer ?}
Chorus
Let’s go way back
Way back in God
[Oh] Let’s go way back
Way back in God
[sing chorus 4x]
Verse #1
It’s me, it's me, it's me, oh Lord
Standing in the need of prayer
It’s me, it's me, it's me, oh Lord
Standing in the need of prayer
It’s me, it's me, it's me, oh Lord
Standing in the need of prayer
It’s me, it's me, it's me, oh Lord
Standing in the need of prayer
Chorus
Verse #2*
Amazing grace how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost but now I’m found
Was blind but now I see
Chorus
Verse #3
It was Grace that taught my heart to fear
And Grace my fear relieved
How precious did that Grace appear
The hour I first believed
Chorus
Verse #5
Choir don’t sing like they used to sing
Way back in God
Choir don’t sing like they used to sing
Way back in God
Verse #6
Preacher don’t preach like they used to preach
Way back in God
Preacher don’t preach like they used to preach
Way back in God
Chorus
Verse #7
People don’t shout like they used to shout
Way back in God
People don’t shout like they used to shout
Way back in God
Verse #8
Church don’t praise like they used to praise
Way back in God
Church don’t praise like they used to praise
Way back in God
Chorus
[Continue singing as long as you wish.]
-snip-
This is Pattern B for this song.
*There are no fixed verses for this song.
I wasn't able to transcribe the complete song that the choir in this video sung. Verses #2 and #3 are my substitution for those verses that the choir sand that I couldn't decipher.
-snip-
According to Google search, there are Bethel Apostolic churches throughout the United States and in Canada. I wonder if this denomination and this style of choir processional during church offerrings came to the USA and Canada via Jamaican immigrants.
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
This post provides two video examples and lyrics to the Gospel song "Let's Go Way Back In God".
The content of this post is presented for religious and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to the composer of this songs. Thanks also to all who are featured in these recordings and thanks to the publishers of these examples on YouTube.
Note: This isn't the same Gospel song as "Let Us Go Way Back To God" that was recorded by Sam Cooke & The Soul Stirrers
A sound file of that song can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNAZ_rVDH2A
****
LYRIC PATTERN FOR THIS SONG
I've found two different lyric patterns for this song. I'm not sure which one is the oldest. I've labeled these as Pattern A and Pattern B.
Pattern A
1. Chorus [sing 4x]
2. Verse structure with response:
__ (a noun associated with church) don't __(a verb associated with church) like they used to (same verb)
Sing: Way back in God
Repeat first line Way back in God
Example:
Choir don't sing like they use to sing
Way back in God
Choir don't sing like they use to sing
Way back in God
3. Chorus [4x]
[Repeat this pattern.]
****
Pattern B
1.`Chorus [4x]
2. Sing a verse from an old Gospel song/hymn. Repeat same verse one time.
3. Sing chorus [4x]
4. Sing verse from another old Gospel song/hymn. Repeat same verse one time.
6. Sing chorus [4x]
[Repeat this two part pattern as many times as you wish].
7. Sing verse structure with response as found in Part A.
8. Sing chorus
[Repeat that pattern as many times as you wish.]
****
FEATURED EXAMPLES
Editor's Note:
It just so happens that both of these songs were sung during a church offering [when money is collected for the church upkeep and/or other church work such as "missionary services".]
Uptempo songs are usually sung for church offerrings, even if ushers pass the plate row by row instead of rows of congregants walking (or marching) to the front of the church altar to put their money into a designated offerring plate.r
Example #1: Let's Go Way Back ~ Offering Time ~ 2011 GLC Youth Conference
gospellight684, Uploaded on Jun 11, 2011
Love vs Confidence @ 2011 GLC Youth Conference
-snip-
This comment was written in response to the question "Where is this church located" and the song's lyrics were posted in this video's discussion thread:
NewMercies02, Sep 2, 2011
"@Mysinsaregone The church is located in Newark, New Jersey.
Lyrics
Chorus:
Lets go way back , way back in god
lets go way back, way back in god
lets go way back, way back in god
The people don't sing like they used to sing, way back in god
The people don't sing like they used to sing, way back in god
chorus
The people don't pray like they used to pray, way back in god
The people don't pray like they used to pray, way back in god.
Its a praise and worship song, u can really add any lyrics u want."
-snip-
This is Pattern A for this song.
Note the comment that there are no fixed verses for this song.
One commenter wrote that this service is "like a real Jamaican church". Another commenter wrote that she remembered that song from a church in Cuba.
****
Example #2: Lets Go Way Back in God
Bethelapost Church Published on Jul 17, 2013 [Bethel Apostolic Church]
The Voices of the Overcomers, The Ambassadors and Kids in Praise ministering at Congress 2013, second night, July 17, 2013
Bethel Apostolic church
-snip-
****
LYRICS: LET'S GO WAY BACK IN GOD
(composer ?}
Chorus
Let’s go way back
Way back in God
[Oh] Let’s go way back
Way back in God
[sing chorus 4x]
Verse #1
It’s me, it's me, it's me, oh Lord
Standing in the need of prayer
It’s me, it's me, it's me, oh Lord
Standing in the need of prayer
It’s me, it's me, it's me, oh Lord
Standing in the need of prayer
It’s me, it's me, it's me, oh Lord
Standing in the need of prayer
Chorus
Verse #2*
Amazing grace how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost but now I’m found
Was blind but now I see
Chorus
Verse #3
It was Grace that taught my heart to fear
And Grace my fear relieved
How precious did that Grace appear
The hour I first believed
Chorus
Verse #5
Choir don’t sing like they used to sing
Way back in God
Choir don’t sing like they used to sing
Way back in God
Verse #6
Preacher don’t preach like they used to preach
Way back in God
Preacher don’t preach like they used to preach
Way back in God
Chorus
Verse #7
People don’t shout like they used to shout
Way back in God
People don’t shout like they used to shout
Way back in God
Verse #8
Church don’t praise like they used to praise
Way back in God
Church don’t praise like they used to praise
Way back in God
Chorus
[Continue singing as long as you wish.]
-snip-
This is Pattern B for this song.
*There are no fixed verses for this song.
I wasn't able to transcribe the complete song that the choir in this video sung. Verses #2 and #3 are my substitution for those verses that the choir sand that I couldn't decipher.
-snip-
According to Google search, there are Bethel Apostolic churches throughout the United States and in Canada. I wonder if this denomination and this style of choir processional during church offerrings came to the USA and Canada via Jamaican immigrants.
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Examples Of "John Crow Say Him Naah Wuk Pan Sunday"
Edited by Azizi Powell
This post showcases examples of the Jamaican Mento (folk song)
"John Crow Say Him Naah Wuk Pan Sunday" (John Crow Says He Doesn't Work On Sunday").
The Addendum to this post showcases two Reggae examples of this song.
This post continues this blog's compilation of Jamaican songs that mention "John Crow". Click the John Crow tab below for other pancocojams post on John Crow.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to these featured vocalists for their musical legacy. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of these examples on the Internet.
****
LYRICS: JOHN CROW SAY HIM NAAH WUK PAN SUNDAY
(traditional Jamaican Mento)
John Crow say him naah wuk pan Sunday!
Naah wuk! Him naah wuk pan Sunday!
John Crow say him naah wuk pan Sunday!
Naah wuk! Him naah wuk pan Sunday!
Tink a lie mi tell!
Kill yuh Mawga Cow!
Naah wuk! Him naah wuk pan Sunday!
John Crow say him a study fi teacha!!
Naah wuk! Him naah wuk pan Sunday!
John Crow say him a study fi lawya!!
Naah wuk! Him naah wuk pan Sunday!
John Crow say him a study fi parson!!
Naah wuk! Him naah wuk pan Sunday!
John Crow say him a dry lan' touris'!!
Naah wuk! Him naah wuk pan Sunday!
Tink a lie mi tell!
Kill yuh Mawga Cow!
Naah wuk! Him naah wuk pan Sunday!
Source: http://thelongwayhome-andreadowner.blogspot.com/2012/12/john-crow-brer-anancy-brer-tocuma-abna.html,
-snip-
Explanation of certain words:
"John Crow Say Him Naah Wuk Pan Sunday" - John Crow Says He Doesn't Work On Sunday(s).
"Tink a lie mi tell!"- I think he's lying.
"Kill yuh Mawga Cow!"= (He'll even) kill your skinny (meager) cow [on Sundays]
"a study fi" - study for (studying to be a ...)
"mawga" - meagre skinny
Source: http://www.thedialectdictionary.com/view/search/Jamaican/1592/ "Jamaican Dialect / Glossary"
"Dry land tourist" - "Slang expression for a Jamaican who has never left the island of Jamaica, but has begun to speak with a foreign accent, especially when he/she is around a tourist."
Source: http://jamaicanpatwah.com/term/Dry-land-tourist/1400
****
WHAT THE SONG "JOHN CROW SAY HE NO WORK ON SUNDAY" MEANS
Here is one theory about this song from http://thelongwayhome-andreadowner.blogspot.com/2012/12/john-crow-brer-anancy-brer-tocuma-abna.html, Sunday, 8 December 2012 Andrea Downer
"JOHN CROW, BRER ANANCY, BRER TOCUMA, ABNA DUPPY (JAMAICAN ORAL & FOLK TRADITIONS)"
..."In Jamaica where I grew up, Sundays are hallowed days! Even for people who are NOT regular church goers! Even the most dedicated farmer or low-life lay-a-about in the district would take the occasional bath and put on some decent clothes and look respectable on Sundays...
As a matter of fact, on Sundays, the shops never used to really open of such, just a one window where the shopkeeper would sell the few items that would be purchased on Sundays...
Sundays were sacred! Trust mi! I could never imagine writing an exam or doing anything strenuous pon a Sunday back home. But here, having voluntarily transferred myself to a foreign land, I must confront the glaring differences in culture, lifestyle, grammar, syntax and practices and while it is a process I am learning and growing from, it takes much getting used to...
And as I was doing dishes and singing the song with my daughter, I remembered the oral tradition from which such a song [about John Crow] evolved. I also recalled that that particular song had originated from the African slaves that had been uprooted and taken to Jamaica and the rest of the Caribbean in sub-human conditions to be raped, exploited and robbed of their human dignity and cultural clingings. I believe the song might have come about due to the slave's defiance at being compelled to work seven days a week and they insisted on at least one rest day: the aforementioned hallowed Sunday....
-snip-
Italics added by me to highlight this sentence.
****
My Opinion About This Song's Meaning:
I don't think that the song "John Crow Say Him Naah Wuk Pan Sunday" has to do with enslaved people wanting to have at least one rest day.
I think this song was composed after slavery and addresses the tendency of people to turn their backs on traditional ways when they are studying for professional occupations, or when they want to pretend to be from outside that culture.
In my opinion, an important word in the title "John Crow Say Him Naah Wuk Pan Sunday" is the word says. Note that the song title isn't "John Crow Him Naah Wuk Pan Sunday" ("John Crow, He Doesn't Work On Sunday"). Whether it's Sunday or not John Crow (the vulture) will scoop down and eat even a mawga cow (a skinny cow).
John Crow (the Jamaican vulture) is a despised character in most Jamaican songs.* This song is saying that those Jamaicans who disregard their culture -such as those professional people who work on Sunday and those "dry land tourists" (Jamaicans who put on an American accent) should also be despised, or at least be derided (held in contempt, made fun of). Notice how in the skits of people singing this song that are shown above, the group makes fun of those people mentioned. I believe they are making fun of them because those groups of people are acting like they are better than, or at least different from other Jamaicans. And I think that's the central problem that this song speaks to.
*Although John Crow is almost always a despised character, in Beenie Man's [Reggae Song] "John Crow" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOMBNQXWR60) when the (black?) motorcyle is referred to as "John Crown" it's a complimente. My guess is that like John Crow (the vulture), that motorcyle is seen as "intimidating" and "fierce" in the vernacular sense of those words.
****
FEATURED YOUTUBE EXAMPLES
These examples are presented in chronological order based on their publishing date on YouTube with the oldest dates given first.
Example #1: John crow says he na work on Sundays
Claire Kinkead, Uploaded on Nov 23, 2011
Traditional Jamaican song by the students of the Assemblies of God Bible College Jamaica
****
Example #2: The Jamaican Folk Singers - John Crow
Dead Wax, Published on Mar 9, 2014
Jamaican Folk Singers - Volume II - John Crow
****
Example #3: Jamaica folk Song - John crow seh im naah wok pan sunday
Wesley Henry, Published on Mar 17, 2014
House of Prayer Canada culture day 2013 - Jamaicans singing
****
ADDENDUM: REGGAE EXAMPLES OF THIS SONG
Example #1: TENOR SAW - NO WORK ON AH SUNDAY (WHAT ONE RIDDIM CAN DO RIDDIM)
KILLA SELECTOR Uploaded on Nov 9, 2011
" BAD BAD TENOR SAW " !!!!!!!!!!!!!
-snip-
Here's a comment that quotes one portion of that song
Ason, 2013
"yesterday a big cow die in the pasture yesterday a big cow die in the pasture woah I see a flock of crows flying in the sky making a circle and then the crows fly down yes the crows fly down but the leader of the crows was gray and he come in the front an say yesterday when you was on earth kicking up dust but today you die, who is gonna bury you? but today you die, I wanna know who's gonna bury you then all his folks shout and say we gonna eat you me and my folks all gonna eat you
****
Example #2: KING KONG - JOHN CROW WORK ON SUNDAY (PRESSURE & SLIDE RIDDIM)
KILLA SELECTOR, Uploaded on Nov 23, 2011
" WICKED KING KONG TUNE " ...
****
UPDATE: January 30, 2016
The song "John Crow Say I'm Wan' Decent Woman" is a version of the John Crow Say Him Naah Wuk Pan Sunday" family of songs. An example of that song is included in the 1981 Folkways Record album entitled "John Crow Say..: Jamaican Music of Faith, Work and Play".
The song begins with the verse
John Crow say "I wan' decent woman
Can't work can't work can't work on Sunday.
John Crow say "I wan' decent woman
Can't work can't work can't work on Sunday."
http://www.folkways.si.edu/john-crow-say-jamaican-music-of-faith-work-and-play/caribbean-world/album/smithsonian
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
This post showcases examples of the Jamaican Mento (folk song)
"John Crow Say Him Naah Wuk Pan Sunday" (John Crow Says He Doesn't Work On Sunday").
The Addendum to this post showcases two Reggae examples of this song.
This post continues this blog's compilation of Jamaican songs that mention "John Crow". Click the John Crow tab below for other pancocojams post on John Crow.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to these featured vocalists for their musical legacy. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of these examples on the Internet.
****
LYRICS: JOHN CROW SAY HIM NAAH WUK PAN SUNDAY
(traditional Jamaican Mento)
John Crow say him naah wuk pan Sunday!
Naah wuk! Him naah wuk pan Sunday!
John Crow say him naah wuk pan Sunday!
Naah wuk! Him naah wuk pan Sunday!
Tink a lie mi tell!
Kill yuh Mawga Cow!
Naah wuk! Him naah wuk pan Sunday!
John Crow say him a study fi teacha!!
Naah wuk! Him naah wuk pan Sunday!
John Crow say him a study fi lawya!!
Naah wuk! Him naah wuk pan Sunday!
John Crow say him a study fi parson!!
Naah wuk! Him naah wuk pan Sunday!
John Crow say him a dry lan' touris'!!
Naah wuk! Him naah wuk pan Sunday!
Tink a lie mi tell!
Kill yuh Mawga Cow!
Naah wuk! Him naah wuk pan Sunday!
Source: http://thelongwayhome-andreadowner.blogspot.com/2012/12/john-crow-brer-anancy-brer-tocuma-abna.html,
-snip-
Explanation of certain words:
"John Crow Say Him Naah Wuk Pan Sunday" - John Crow Says He Doesn't Work On Sunday(s).
"Tink a lie mi tell!"- I think he's lying.
"Kill yuh Mawga Cow!"= (He'll even) kill your skinny (meager) cow [on Sundays]
"a study fi" - study for (studying to be a ...)
"mawga" - meagre skinny
Source: http://www.thedialectdictionary.com/view/search/Jamaican/1592/ "Jamaican Dialect / Glossary"
"Dry land tourist" - "Slang expression for a Jamaican who has never left the island of Jamaica, but has begun to speak with a foreign accent, especially when he/she is around a tourist."
Source: http://jamaicanpatwah.com/term/Dry-land-tourist/1400
****
WHAT THE SONG "JOHN CROW SAY HE NO WORK ON SUNDAY" MEANS
Here is one theory about this song from http://thelongwayhome-andreadowner.blogspot.com/2012/12/john-crow-brer-anancy-brer-tocuma-abna.html, Sunday, 8 December 2012 Andrea Downer
"JOHN CROW, BRER ANANCY, BRER TOCUMA, ABNA DUPPY (JAMAICAN ORAL & FOLK TRADITIONS)"
..."In Jamaica where I grew up, Sundays are hallowed days! Even for people who are NOT regular church goers! Even the most dedicated farmer or low-life lay-a-about in the district would take the occasional bath and put on some decent clothes and look respectable on Sundays...
As a matter of fact, on Sundays, the shops never used to really open of such, just a one window where the shopkeeper would sell the few items that would be purchased on Sundays...
Sundays were sacred! Trust mi! I could never imagine writing an exam or doing anything strenuous pon a Sunday back home. But here, having voluntarily transferred myself to a foreign land, I must confront the glaring differences in culture, lifestyle, grammar, syntax and practices and while it is a process I am learning and growing from, it takes much getting used to...
And as I was doing dishes and singing the song with my daughter, I remembered the oral tradition from which such a song [about John Crow] evolved. I also recalled that that particular song had originated from the African slaves that had been uprooted and taken to Jamaica and the rest of the Caribbean in sub-human conditions to be raped, exploited and robbed of their human dignity and cultural clingings. I believe the song might have come about due to the slave's defiance at being compelled to work seven days a week and they insisted on at least one rest day: the aforementioned hallowed Sunday....
-snip-
Italics added by me to highlight this sentence.
****
My Opinion About This Song's Meaning:
I don't think that the song "John Crow Say Him Naah Wuk Pan Sunday" has to do with enslaved people wanting to have at least one rest day.
I think this song was composed after slavery and addresses the tendency of people to turn their backs on traditional ways when they are studying for professional occupations, or when they want to pretend to be from outside that culture.
In my opinion, an important word in the title "John Crow Say Him Naah Wuk Pan Sunday" is the word says. Note that the song title isn't "John Crow Him Naah Wuk Pan Sunday" ("John Crow, He Doesn't Work On Sunday"). Whether it's Sunday or not John Crow (the vulture) will scoop down and eat even a mawga cow (a skinny cow).
John Crow (the Jamaican vulture) is a despised character in most Jamaican songs.* This song is saying that those Jamaicans who disregard their culture -such as those professional people who work on Sunday and those "dry land tourists" (Jamaicans who put on an American accent) should also be despised, or at least be derided (held in contempt, made fun of). Notice how in the skits of people singing this song that are shown above, the group makes fun of those people mentioned. I believe they are making fun of them because those groups of people are acting like they are better than, or at least different from other Jamaicans. And I think that's the central problem that this song speaks to.
*Although John Crow is almost always a despised character, in Beenie Man's [Reggae Song] "John Crow" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOMBNQXWR60) when the (black?) motorcyle is referred to as "John Crown" it's a complimente. My guess is that like John Crow (the vulture), that motorcyle is seen as "intimidating" and "fierce" in the vernacular sense of those words.
****
FEATURED YOUTUBE EXAMPLES
These examples are presented in chronological order based on their publishing date on YouTube with the oldest dates given first.
Example #1: John crow says he na work on Sundays
Claire Kinkead, Uploaded on Nov 23, 2011
Traditional Jamaican song by the students of the Assemblies of God Bible College Jamaica
****
Example #2: The Jamaican Folk Singers - John Crow
Dead Wax, Published on Mar 9, 2014
Jamaican Folk Singers - Volume II - John Crow
****
Example #3: Jamaica folk Song - John crow seh im naah wok pan sunday
Wesley Henry, Published on Mar 17, 2014
House of Prayer Canada culture day 2013 - Jamaicans singing
****
ADDENDUM: REGGAE EXAMPLES OF THIS SONG
Example #1: TENOR SAW - NO WORK ON AH SUNDAY (WHAT ONE RIDDIM CAN DO RIDDIM)
KILLA SELECTOR Uploaded on Nov 9, 2011
" BAD BAD TENOR SAW " !!!!!!!!!!!!!
-snip-
Here's a comment that quotes one portion of that song
Ason, 2013
"yesterday a big cow die in the pasture yesterday a big cow die in the pasture woah I see a flock of crows flying in the sky making a circle and then the crows fly down yes the crows fly down but the leader of the crows was gray and he come in the front an say yesterday when you was on earth kicking up dust but today you die, who is gonna bury you? but today you die, I wanna know who's gonna bury you then all his folks shout and say we gonna eat you me and my folks all gonna eat you
****
Example #2: KING KONG - JOHN CROW WORK ON SUNDAY (PRESSURE & SLIDE RIDDIM)
KILLA SELECTOR, Uploaded on Nov 23, 2011
" WICKED KING KONG TUNE " ...
****
UPDATE: January 30, 2016
The song "John Crow Say I'm Wan' Decent Woman" is a version of the John Crow Say Him Naah Wuk Pan Sunday" family of songs. An example of that song is included in the 1981 Folkways Record album entitled "John Crow Say..: Jamaican Music of Faith, Work and Play".
The song begins with the verse
John Crow say "I wan' decent woman
Can't work can't work can't work on Sunday.
John Crow say "I wan' decent woman
Can't work can't work can't work on Sunday."
http://www.folkways.si.edu/john-crow-say-jamaican-music-of-faith-work-and-play/caribbean-world/album/smithsonian
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
One Ska & One Reggae Example Of "Chi Chi Bud" (with Two Other Chi Chi Bud Riddim songs)
Edited by Azizi Powell
This post showcases two Ska and Reggae examples of "Chi Chi Bud". "Chi Chi Bud Oh". "Chi Chi Bud Oh" (also known as "Chi Chi Bud") is a traditional Jamaican folk song (Mento).
The Chi Chi Bud Riddim (rhythm/tune) is used for a number of Reggae songs. The Addendum to this post showcases two of those records.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/10/chi-chi-bud-oh-jamaican-folk-song-mento.html for two text examples (lyrics) and three YouTube sound file examples of the Jamaican folk song "Chi Chi Bud Oh" (also known as "Chi Chi Bud").
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to these featured vocalists for their musical legacy. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of these examples on the Internet.
****
FEATURED YOUTUBE EXAMPLES
SKA EXAMPLE: The Gaylads & The Skatalites - Chi Chi Bud
LittleBoyBlue1965, Published on Oct 3, 2014
Coxsone Dodd Prod. 1964 (Released On Coxsone JA)
****
REGGAE EXAMPLE
Maxi Romeo - Chi Chi Bud - Chi Chi Bud Riddim
Dean Martin, Uploaded on Jun 13, 2011
Interested in the Caribbean? Love Caribbean culture? then www.thecaribbeanforum.com is the place for you. Come on over, register and enjoy some real Caribbean vibes.
****
ADDENDUM: CHI CHI BUD RIDDIM
Example #1: Tarrus Riley - Life Precious Gift - Chi Chi Bud Riddim
Dean Martin, Uploaded on Jun 13, 2011
****
Example #2: Mikey Spice - Walk A Mile In My Shoe - Chi Chi Bud Riddim
Dean Martin, Uploaded on Jun 13, 2011
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
This post showcases two Ska and Reggae examples of "Chi Chi Bud". "Chi Chi Bud Oh". "Chi Chi Bud Oh" (also known as "Chi Chi Bud") is a traditional Jamaican folk song (Mento).
The Chi Chi Bud Riddim (rhythm/tune) is used for a number of Reggae songs. The Addendum to this post showcases two of those records.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/10/chi-chi-bud-oh-jamaican-folk-song-mento.html for two text examples (lyrics) and three YouTube sound file examples of the Jamaican folk song "Chi Chi Bud Oh" (also known as "Chi Chi Bud").
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to these featured vocalists for their musical legacy. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of these examples on the Internet.
****
FEATURED YOUTUBE EXAMPLES
SKA EXAMPLE: The Gaylads & The Skatalites - Chi Chi Bud
LittleBoyBlue1965, Published on Oct 3, 2014
Coxsone Dodd Prod. 1964 (Released On Coxsone JA)
****
REGGAE EXAMPLE
Maxi Romeo - Chi Chi Bud - Chi Chi Bud Riddim
Dean Martin, Uploaded on Jun 13, 2011
Interested in the Caribbean? Love Caribbean culture? then www.thecaribbeanforum.com is the place for you. Come on over, register and enjoy some real Caribbean vibes.
****
ADDENDUM: CHI CHI BUD RIDDIM
Example #1: Tarrus Riley - Life Precious Gift - Chi Chi Bud Riddim
Dean Martin, Uploaded on Jun 13, 2011
****
Example #2: Mikey Spice - Walk A Mile In My Shoe - Chi Chi Bud Riddim
Dean Martin, Uploaded on Jun 13, 2011
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Chi Chi Bud Oh - Jamaican Folk Song (Mento) Examples
Edited by Azizi Powell
This post showcases two text examples (lyrics) and three YouTube sound file examples of the Jamaican folk song (Mento) "Chi Chi Bud Oh" (also known as "Chi Chi Bud". This post also includes excerpts of a 2001 article from the Jamaican Gleaner that provides information about the changing meaning of the jamaican term "chi chi".
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/10/one-ska-one-reggae-example-of-chi-chi.html for the pancocojams post "One Ska & One Reggae Example Of "Chi Chi Bud" (with 2 Chi Chi Bud Riddim songs)"
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to these featured vocalists for their musical legacy. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of these examples on the Internet.
****
FEATURED TEXT EXAMPLES
(These examples are given in no particular order.)
Example #1
A chi-chi bud oh!
Some a dem a holla some a bawl
Chi-chi bud oh!
Some a dem a holla some a bawl
Some a black bud...
Some a grass bud...
Some a white bud...
Somee a beeny bud...
Chi-chi bud oh...
Some a lagga-head...
An a chickman chick...
Some a John crow...
An a docta bud...
Hi! Docta bid a cunning bud,
Him build him nest a low limb,
Ah never shoot him ah only adore him.
A bud oh!
Chi–chi bud oh...
Some a peer dove...
Some a grung dove...
Some a white dove...
Some a bubble dove...
Chi-chi bud oh...
Hawk...
Stork...
Owl...
Pitchceeriee...
Chi-chi bud oh...
"The success of this lively call and response song depends on the ability of the leader to think of as many bird names as possible. It originates as a light-hearted accompaniment to tiring work in the fields and often ended in hilarity when the leader ran out of real names and had to start inventing them.
Most of the names given are local nicknames, for instance, docta bud is th Jamaican namd for theee swallow-tailed humming bird.
chi chi bud [means] a flock, or gathering of birds
Some a dem a holla, some a bawl[means]some of them holler, some of them bawl"
Source: Mango Spice: 44 Caribbean songs
Editors Yvonne Canolly, Gloria Cameron, and Sonia Singham
A&C Black Publishers, London, 1981 [Song #14]
-snip-
"bud" = bird
"bawl" = cry
The line given in italics is sung by the group after each line with the "...".
There are no set names of birds for this Mento song, although most of the examples that I have heard (online) and read include John Crow (jancro) - the Jamaican vulture.
****
Example #2: CHI CHI BUD
Chi chi bud, oh!
Some of them holler some a bawl
Some a band neck...
Some a woodpecker...
some are brown dove
some are white wing...
Chi chi bud, oh!...
Why Chi chi bud, oh!...
Some are brown dove...
some are John Crow...
some are handsticker...
some are band neck...
-traditional Jamaican mento; traditional, arrangement by Lord Messam
Source: http://www.mentomusic.com/messam.htm#lyrics
-snip-
Reformatted for this post. The line given in italics is sung by the group after each line with the "...".
Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Messam for information about Lord Messam.
****
FEATURED YOUTUBE EXAMPLES
These examples are given according to their publishing date on YouTube with the oldest dates given first.
Example #1: Miss Lou (Part 9) ~ Oman A Breadwinner ~ Chi Chi Bud ~ Gay Paree ~ Walk Good
Bajanbloom Bloom, Uploaded on Jan 15, 2011
Dr. Louise Bennett Coverley, through many years of research, has provided Jamaica with a vast reference collection of "valid documents reflecting the way Jamaicans think and feel and live". The proud recipient of two Honorary Degrees of Doctor of Letters, one from the University of the West Indies in 1983 and the other from York University of Toronto Canada in 1998 -- is testimony in itself and an achievement which speaks volumes of the high recognition of one of our true Caribbean Gems.
.025-2:05 [Chi Chi Bud Oh]
-snip-
Here's my partial transcription of Miss Lou's introduction to this song (Sorry. I'm unable to provide even an adequate transcription of the song itself.)
"I’m going to sing my favorite song. It was the first song I knew. When I was a little girl, it was the first song I knew, a digging song. Chi chi bud oh...Chi chi birds, a flock of birds."
-snip-
I think that "Oman A Breadwinner" means "Woman A Breadwinner" (woman works outside the home for money to buy food, pay bills etc.)
Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louise_Bennett-Coverley for information about Miss Lou. Here's an excerpt of that page:
"Louise Simone Bennett-Coverley or Miss Lou, OM, OJ, MBE (7 September 1919 – 26 July 2006), was a Jamaican poet, folklorist, writer, and educator. Writing and performing her poems in Jamaican Patois or Creole, she was instrumental in having this "dialect" of the people given literary recognition in its own right ("nation language"). She is located at the heart of the Jamaican poetic tradition, and has influenced other popular Caribbean poets, including Mutabaruka, Linton Kwesi Johnson, and Paul Keens-Douglas."
****
Example #2: Chi Chi Bud Oh - Ainsworth Rose
Ainsworth Rose, Published on Aug 1, 2013
Jamaican Folk Songs
****
Songs From The British West Indies [Smithsonian Records]
sung and played by "The Caribbean Chorus"
Editor's comment.
One year ago I copied the code for another YouTube sound file of "Chi Chi Bud". That example was recorded by Jamaican university students in 1956. Unfortunately, that sound file appears to be no longer available on YouTube. However, I still can share that sound file's summary statement:
"In 1956, a group of ambitious students from McGill University and Sir George William's College (now Concordia University) performed West Indies--style folk music for a university function. The group was so successful that they created the Caribbean Chorus, which catered to off--campus audiences and was the counterpart to the university--sponsored West Indies Society. In B.W.I. (British West Indies) Songs, the chorus sings folk tunes and labor songs influenced by Caribbean, South American, and calypso styles.
Liner notes include a first--person account by the manager of the group's formation and the historical background of each piece.
-snip-
Here's an excerpt from that album's liner notes http://media.smithsonianfolkways.org/liner_notes/folkways/FW08809.pdf
"It [the song "Chi Chi Bud"] is done by labourers in the field as they try to keep their minds of their arduous work...
The singer can go on for hours and hours, as long as the chorus can hold out."
****
ADDENDUM: Article excerpt "From cha-cha to chi-chi"
http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20010529/cleisure/cleisure2.html
-Garth A. Rattray, May 29, 2001
"I GREW up in a kinder, gentler more civil society. The popular music was happier and more serene. It was very entertaining and often soothing and relaxing.
Nothing less than talented voices were accepted. Lyrics espousing violence were unheard of. I tend to interpret the popular music as a sign of the times. The artistic and social transition from cha-cha to chi-chi has been a culture shock for many of us.
"Everybody loves to cha-cha-cha" was the title of the famous Sam Cooke hit song. The cha-cha has its roots in Haiti where there is a plant with seedpods that make a "cha-cha" sound when shaken. This was used as a metronome for music rhythms. In 1953 the Cuban orchestra 'America' started playing the mambo with a different beat, it was slower and allowed dancers to use a slight hip undulation with the slow count. It was a cute, rhythmic, Latin dance that was soft, entreating and yet innocent. It was a clean, light-hearted dance that everyone could perform with little effort. The cha-cha remains the most popular Latin dance in the USA.
The song itself goes on to state that, "Little children love to cha-cha-cha". Cha-cha songs held no hidden meanings. They spawned the Jamaican term cha-cha man (or cha-cha boy). It was a descriptive term used to refer to a 'face man', a 'sweet boy', a 'ladies man', a Casanova of sorts. It was not a demeaning term nor did it berate anybody's sexuality. The phrase was often used as a friendly tease and very rarely denoted disrespect, as in the expression, "He's a cha-cha boy", meaning shallow, superficial, good-looking, well dressed but only a player. That was as bad as it got in those days...
That same era saw the beginning of the transition of the Jamaican mento to ska. Our own ska started off with artistes like Cecil Bustamante Campbell (Prince Buster) and Desmond Dekker. Sound system operators like Duke Reid (The Trojan) and Clement Seymore Dodd (Sir Coxsone) made invaluable contributions to the music of that day. Our music eventually went on to 'evolve' into rocksteady, reggae, roots reggae, dub and finally the current dance-hall music.
Now we have popular songs (like the one by TOK) loudly referring to chi-chi men with the concomitant tumult as to the true intended meaning of the term. Originally 'chi-chi' was used to describe termites. These destructive little creatures seemed to deserve such a term as it captured the very essence of their ruinous activities. The next time that I recall hearing the term chi-chi was in the popular Louise Bennett-Coverley song Chi-chi bud. We all knew that the bird and termite had nothing in common; we just enjoyed the song for it's cultural value and never ascribed any negative meanings to it.
The last innocent use of the word was in reference to a type of bus called the chi-chi 'white' bus. This was a large, white bus (made by the White Motor Company) that was introduced into Jamaica in the mid to late 1960s. It produced short, sharp, explosive, sneezing sounds whenever the air brakes were applied. The sounds were mimicked by the word chi-chi.
Then came the term 'chi-chi man'. I am not certain about how this once innocent word came to be corrupted into its new meaning but the current consensus is that it now refers to homosexuality. Why a song gibing homosexuals and promulgating conflagration should become so popular is perplexing to me. Some claim that the song may also be alluding to nefarious underworld figures. Either way, the popularity of this song depicts our society's current preoccupation with sex and violence...
Our entire society has moved from popular hits consisting of mostly sweet melodies to turbulent, troubled tunes. We need to encourage our performers to produce softer, gentler, friendlier, sex-free, violence-free, feel-good, family-type music."...
-Dr. Garth A. Rattray is a medical doctor with a family practice.
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
This post showcases two text examples (lyrics) and three YouTube sound file examples of the Jamaican folk song (Mento) "Chi Chi Bud Oh" (also known as "Chi Chi Bud". This post also includes excerpts of a 2001 article from the Jamaican Gleaner that provides information about the changing meaning of the jamaican term "chi chi".
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/10/one-ska-one-reggae-example-of-chi-chi.html for the pancocojams post "One Ska & One Reggae Example Of "Chi Chi Bud" (with 2 Chi Chi Bud Riddim songs)"
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to these featured vocalists for their musical legacy. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of these examples on the Internet.
****
FEATURED TEXT EXAMPLES
(These examples are given in no particular order.)
Example #1
A chi-chi bud oh!
Some a dem a holla some a bawl
Chi-chi bud oh!
Some a dem a holla some a bawl
Some a black bud...
Some a grass bud...
Some a white bud...
Somee a beeny bud...
Chi-chi bud oh...
Some a lagga-head...
An a chickman chick...
Some a John crow...
An a docta bud...
Hi! Docta bid a cunning bud,
Him build him nest a low limb,
Ah never shoot him ah only adore him.
A bud oh!
Chi–chi bud oh...
Some a peer dove...
Some a grung dove...
Some a white dove...
Some a bubble dove...
Chi-chi bud oh...
Hawk...
Stork...
Owl...
Pitchceeriee...
Chi-chi bud oh...
"The success of this lively call and response song depends on the ability of the leader to think of as many bird names as possible. It originates as a light-hearted accompaniment to tiring work in the fields and often ended in hilarity when the leader ran out of real names and had to start inventing them.
Most of the names given are local nicknames, for instance, docta bud is th Jamaican namd for theee swallow-tailed humming bird.
chi chi bud [means] a flock, or gathering of birds
Some a dem a holla, some a bawl[means]some of them holler, some of them bawl"
Source: Mango Spice: 44 Caribbean songs
Editors Yvonne Canolly, Gloria Cameron, and Sonia Singham
A&C Black Publishers, London, 1981 [Song #14]
-snip-
"bud" = bird
"bawl" = cry
The line given in italics is sung by the group after each line with the "...".
There are no set names of birds for this Mento song, although most of the examples that I have heard (online) and read include John Crow (jancro) - the Jamaican vulture.
****
Example #2: CHI CHI BUD
Chi chi bud, oh!
Some of them holler some a bawl
Some a band neck...
Some a woodpecker...
some are brown dove
some are white wing...
Chi chi bud, oh!...
Why Chi chi bud, oh!...
Some are brown dove...
some are John Crow...
some are handsticker...
some are band neck...
-traditional Jamaican mento; traditional, arrangement by Lord Messam
Source: http://www.mentomusic.com/messam.htm#lyrics
-snip-
Reformatted for this post. The line given in italics is sung by the group after each line with the "...".
Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Messam for information about Lord Messam.
****
FEATURED YOUTUBE EXAMPLES
These examples are given according to their publishing date on YouTube with the oldest dates given first.
Example #1: Miss Lou (Part 9) ~ Oman A Breadwinner ~ Chi Chi Bud ~ Gay Paree ~ Walk Good
Bajanbloom Bloom, Uploaded on Jan 15, 2011
Dr. Louise Bennett Coverley, through many years of research, has provided Jamaica with a vast reference collection of "valid documents reflecting the way Jamaicans think and feel and live". The proud recipient of two Honorary Degrees of Doctor of Letters, one from the University of the West Indies in 1983 and the other from York University of Toronto Canada in 1998 -- is testimony in itself and an achievement which speaks volumes of the high recognition of one of our true Caribbean Gems.
.025-2:05 [Chi Chi Bud Oh]
-snip-
Here's my partial transcription of Miss Lou's introduction to this song (Sorry. I'm unable to provide even an adequate transcription of the song itself.)
"I’m going to sing my favorite song. It was the first song I knew. When I was a little girl, it was the first song I knew, a digging song. Chi chi bud oh...Chi chi birds, a flock of birds."
-snip-
I think that "Oman A Breadwinner" means "Woman A Breadwinner" (woman works outside the home for money to buy food, pay bills etc.)
Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louise_Bennett-Coverley for information about Miss Lou. Here's an excerpt of that page:
"Louise Simone Bennett-Coverley or Miss Lou, OM, OJ, MBE (7 September 1919 – 26 July 2006), was a Jamaican poet, folklorist, writer, and educator. Writing and performing her poems in Jamaican Patois or Creole, she was instrumental in having this "dialect" of the people given literary recognition in its own right ("nation language"). She is located at the heart of the Jamaican poetic tradition, and has influenced other popular Caribbean poets, including Mutabaruka, Linton Kwesi Johnson, and Paul Keens-Douglas."
****
Example #2: Chi Chi Bud Oh - Ainsworth Rose
Ainsworth Rose, Published on Aug 1, 2013
Jamaican Folk Songs
****
Songs From The British West Indies [Smithsonian Records]
sung and played by "The Caribbean Chorus"
Editor's comment.
One year ago I copied the code for another YouTube sound file of "Chi Chi Bud". That example was recorded by Jamaican university students in 1956. Unfortunately, that sound file appears to be no longer available on YouTube. However, I still can share that sound file's summary statement:
"In 1956, a group of ambitious students from McGill University and Sir George William's College (now Concordia University) performed West Indies--style folk music for a university function. The group was so successful that they created the Caribbean Chorus, which catered to off--campus audiences and was the counterpart to the university--sponsored West Indies Society. In B.W.I. (British West Indies) Songs, the chorus sings folk tunes and labor songs influenced by Caribbean, South American, and calypso styles.
Liner notes include a first--person account by the manager of the group's formation and the historical background of each piece.
-snip-
Here's an excerpt from that album's liner notes http://media.smithsonianfolkways.org/liner_notes/folkways/FW08809.pdf
"It [the song "Chi Chi Bud"] is done by labourers in the field as they try to keep their minds of their arduous work...
The singer can go on for hours and hours, as long as the chorus can hold out."
****
ADDENDUM: Article excerpt "From cha-cha to chi-chi"
http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20010529/cleisure/cleisure2.html
-Garth A. Rattray, May 29, 2001
"I GREW up in a kinder, gentler more civil society. The popular music was happier and more serene. It was very entertaining and often soothing and relaxing.
Nothing less than talented voices were accepted. Lyrics espousing violence were unheard of. I tend to interpret the popular music as a sign of the times. The artistic and social transition from cha-cha to chi-chi has been a culture shock for many of us.
"Everybody loves to cha-cha-cha" was the title of the famous Sam Cooke hit song. The cha-cha has its roots in Haiti where there is a plant with seedpods that make a "cha-cha" sound when shaken. This was used as a metronome for music rhythms. In 1953 the Cuban orchestra 'America' started playing the mambo with a different beat, it was slower and allowed dancers to use a slight hip undulation with the slow count. It was a cute, rhythmic, Latin dance that was soft, entreating and yet innocent. It was a clean, light-hearted dance that everyone could perform with little effort. The cha-cha remains the most popular Latin dance in the USA.
The song itself goes on to state that, "Little children love to cha-cha-cha". Cha-cha songs held no hidden meanings. They spawned the Jamaican term cha-cha man (or cha-cha boy). It was a descriptive term used to refer to a 'face man', a 'sweet boy', a 'ladies man', a Casanova of sorts. It was not a demeaning term nor did it berate anybody's sexuality. The phrase was often used as a friendly tease and very rarely denoted disrespect, as in the expression, "He's a cha-cha boy", meaning shallow, superficial, good-looking, well dressed but only a player. That was as bad as it got in those days...
That same era saw the beginning of the transition of the Jamaican mento to ska. Our own ska started off with artistes like Cecil Bustamante Campbell (Prince Buster) and Desmond Dekker. Sound system operators like Duke Reid (The Trojan) and Clement Seymore Dodd (Sir Coxsone) made invaluable contributions to the music of that day. Our music eventually went on to 'evolve' into rocksteady, reggae, roots reggae, dub and finally the current dance-hall music.
Now we have popular songs (like the one by TOK) loudly referring to chi-chi men with the concomitant tumult as to the true intended meaning of the term. Originally 'chi-chi' was used to describe termites. These destructive little creatures seemed to deserve such a term as it captured the very essence of their ruinous activities. The next time that I recall hearing the term chi-chi was in the popular Louise Bennett-Coverley song Chi-chi bud. We all knew that the bird and termite had nothing in common; we just enjoyed the song for it's cultural value and never ascribed any negative meanings to it.
The last innocent use of the word was in reference to a type of bus called the chi-chi 'white' bus. This was a large, white bus (made by the White Motor Company) that was introduced into Jamaica in the mid to late 1960s. It produced short, sharp, explosive, sneezing sounds whenever the air brakes were applied. The sounds were mimicked by the word chi-chi.
Then came the term 'chi-chi man'. I am not certain about how this once innocent word came to be corrupted into its new meaning but the current consensus is that it now refers to homosexuality. Why a song gibing homosexuals and promulgating conflagration should become so popular is perplexing to me. Some claim that the song may also be alluding to nefarious underworld figures. Either way, the popularity of this song depicts our society's current preoccupation with sex and violence...
Our entire society has moved from popular hits consisting of mostly sweet melodies to turbulent, troubled tunes. We need to encourage our performers to produce softer, gentler, friendlier, sex-free, violence-free, feel-good, family-type music."...
-Dr. Garth A. Rattray is a medical doctor with a family practice.
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Saturday, October 25, 2014
Ella Fitzgerald - "Darktown Strutters Ball" (example, lyrics, and more)
Edited by Azizi Powell
This post is Part II of a two part series on the Jazz classic "Darktown Strutters Ball".
Part II showcases a 1936 example of "Darktown Strutters Ball" that was recorded by Ella Fitzgerald and the Chick Webb band. The lyrics of this version are included in this post.
The Addendum to this post presents two brief excerpts of biographies of Shelton Brooks and a bonus video of Shelton Brooks singing one of his other compositions, "Hole in the Wall".
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/10/what-words-darktown-and-strutters.html for Part I of this series,
Part I provides information & comments about the meaning of the words in the title "Darktown Strutters Ball". That post also provides a sound file & lyrics of that early Jazz classic, and information about the song's composer, Shelton Brooks.
The content of this post is presented for historical, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Shelton Brooks, the composer of "Darktown Strutters Ball", Ella Fitzgerald, and Chick Webb & his band for their musical legacy. Thanks also to the publisher of this featured soundfile and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
****
GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT "DARKTOWN STRUTTERS BALL"
From http://parlorsongs.com/issues/2011-4/thismonth/feature.php
"Just a year after [composing] Walkin' the Dog, Brooks wrote what is his most lasting hit. I suspect that even now, nearly one hundred years later, many people could still sing at least the opening phrase of the chorus; "I'll be down to get you in a taxi honey." It is no doubt his most recorded song as well. Popularized by Sophie Tucker, it may have been introduced on Vaudeville by the young lady on the cover, Blossom Seeley. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers performed it in the film, The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle in 1937. It was also performed in other films including, Broadway (1942), Incendiary Blonde (1944), The Dolly Sisters (1946) and Little Boy Lost in 1953. Seeley was born Minnie Guyer, in San Francisco, California. A top vaudeville headliner, she was known as the "Queen of Syncopation" and helped bring jazz and ragtime into the mainstream of American music. She introduced the Shelton Brooks classic "Some of These Days" in vaudeville in 1910, one year before Sophie Tucker recorded it in 1911.
This is one of "ragtime's" greatest hits and it simply speaks for itself. Enjoy the music..
****
SHOWCASE SOUND FILE: Darktown Strutter's Ball by Ella Fitzgerald
Fireworksandsunshine, Uploaded on Jul 29, 2011
-snip-
Here are two comments from this sound file's discussion thread.
oldtimeswinger, 2012
"The recording was made on 19 November, 1936. The backing may be by Chick Webb's Band."
**
Sovery Strange, Aug 13, 2012 in reply to oldtimeswinger
"Definitely Chick Webb:)"
-snip-
Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ella_Fitzgerald for information about African American Jazz vocalist Ella Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917 – June 15, 1996).
Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chick_Webb for information about African American jazz and swing music drummer as well as band leader Chick Webb(February 10, 1905 – June 16, 1939).
****
LYRICS OF THIS VERSION: DARKTOWN STRUTTER’S BLUES
(originally written by Shelton Brooks [1917], This version as sung by Ella Fitzgerald)
I'll be down to get you in a taxi honey
Better be ready 'bout half past eight
I mean don't be late
Be there when the band starts playin'
Remember when you get there honey
Dance all over the floor, dance all over my shoes
When the band plays the Jelly Roll blues
Say t'morrow night at the darktown strutters ball
[instrumental]
I'll be down to get you in a push cart honey
Better be ready 'bout half past eight
I mean don't be late
Be there when the band starts playin'
'Member when you get there honey
Shim sham wins them all
Dance all over my shoes
When the band plays the Jelly Roll's blues
Say t'morrow night at the darktown strutters ball
Source: http://www.metrolyrics.com/darktown-strutters-ball-lyrics-ella-fitzgerald.html
-snip-
This is a shortened version of the 1917 lyrics for "Darktown Strutters' Ball".
**
"Jelly Roll Blues" (The OriginalJelly Roll Blues" is a 1915 fox trot song that was composed by African American pianist and composer Jelly Roll Morton. Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jelly_Roll_Blues for more information about this song.
**
Notice the substitution of the "Shim Sham" dance for the two step, the buck and wing and other dances that were mentioned in the 1917 version of this song.
"The Shim Sham" originally referred to and still refers to a tap dance routine.
"If you’re at a tap event, you’ll probably see the classic Shim Sham, which is a lot like Reed’s Goofus: A single chorus routine with four counts of eight bars each. According to Valis Hill’s recent book Tap Dancing America, these sections are: the double shuffle, the crossover, the Tack Annie, and the half break (also known as “falling off the log”). Source: http://www.dancespirit.com/2010/12/the_shim_sham_a_tap_tradition/ [hereafter given as dancespirit:Shim Sham]
-snip-
However, that tap dance evolved to a social dance called the "Shim Sham Shimmy".
"In the 1930s, the Shim Sham became the Shim Sham Shimmy when a quick shoulder shake was added to the choreography. Harold Cromer, a more-than-50-year tap veteran best known as Stumpy from the famous comedy tap team Stump and Stumpy, recalls learning the Shim Sham Shimmy with the chorus girls at the Apollo in NYC. “Over the years, the Shim Sham has mutated into a simple dance,” he says. “But it used to be a sexy dance. That’s what the girls were doing: the Shim Sham Shimmy with frills and heels.” Source: dancespirit:Shim Sham
-snip-
I think that the "Shim Sham Shimmy" (and not the "Shim Sham" tap dance or the "Shimmy" shaking dance) is the dance that is referred to in that "Darktown Strutters Ball" line. Here's information about the earlier "Shimmy" dance from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shimmy
"A shimmy is a dance move in which the body is held still, except for the shoulders, which are alternated back and forth. When the right shoulder goes back, the left one comes forward. It may help to hold the arms out slightly bent at the elbow, and when the shoulders are moved, keep the hands in the same position. In 1917, a dance-song titled "Shim-Me-Sha-Wabble" by Spencer Williams was published, as was "The Jazz Dance", which included the "Shimmy-She", among others. Flappers often performed the dance in the 1920s."
-snip-
In that Ella Fitzgerald version of "Darktown Strutters Ball", the line "Shim sham wins them all" alludes to the dancing contest or dancing contests that occurred during that Strutters' ball.
Part I of this pancocojams series provides information about this actual annual African American event in Chicago, Illinois.
****
ADDENDUM: INFORMATION ABOUT SHELTON BROOKS & A VIDEO OF BROOKS SINGING ONE OF HIS COMPOSITIONS
From http://www.aaregistry.org/historic_events/view/lyricist-extraordinaire-shelton-brooks "African American Registry
Tue, 1886-05-04"
"Shelton Brooks, a popular African American music composer, was born on this date in 1886,in Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada.
At about the age of 15, in 1901, he and his family moved to Detroit. Brooks sang, played piano, and performed in vaudeville and in musical comedies. He had a songwriting career and a radio show on the CBS network in the 1930s.
Brooks wrote some of the biggest hits of the first third of the 20th century. His compositions included "All Night Long," "At the Darktown Strutters' Ball," "Every Day," "Some of These Days," "Somewhere in France," "Swing That Thing," "That Man of Mine," "There'll Come A Time," and "Walkin' The Dog." Shelton Brooks died on September 6, 1975."
****
From http://www.allmusic.com/artist/shelton-brooks-mn0000024890/biography
"Shelton Brooks was raised in Detroit and began his career as a ragtime piano player, initially entertaining the public in Detroit's cafes and nightclubs, then expanding his territory to include Chicago. It was right around 1909 that Brooks began to compose his own material. By this time he had also developed into an accomplished vaudeville entertainer. Brooks toured the United States of America, Canada, and the British Isles.
"Some of These Days" was published in 1910 and eventually sold more than two million units on the sheet music market. It was also destined to become a jazz standard. Barry Singer, in his biography of lyricist Andy Razaf, claims that this number was "...perhaps the landmark song of this Tin Pan Alley epoch, whereby Brooks, with sophisticated lyric colloquialism and heartfelt passion, elevated the coon song into the realm of expressive emotion." Brooks wrote "All Night Long" in 1912 and "Walkin' the Dog" in 1916. He should also be remembered as the composer of "I Wonder Where My Easy Rider's Gone."
But it was "The Darktown Strutter's Ball" that constituted Brooks' next big hit. First circulated on the vaudeville circuit, this rowdy syncopated novelty just happened to get utilized by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band at their first recording session on January 30, 1917. This first nominal jazz record sold like hotcakes, and the sheet music sales exceeded three million... It was as a performer on-stage, in movies, and on the radio that Brooks continued to circulate after he stopped composing great melodies."...
****
Shelton Brooks - Hole in the Wall
Adamgswanson, Uploaded on Nov 26, 2009
Shelton Brooks, composer of "Some of These Days" and "Darktown Strutters' Ball," sings "Hole in the Wall." From a 1939 all-black film, Double Deal. The credits state Brooks also wrote another song for the movie, "Jitterbugs Cuttin' Rugs," but apparently it was cut from the film.
****
Thank you for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
This post is Part II of a two part series on the Jazz classic "Darktown Strutters Ball".
Part II showcases a 1936 example of "Darktown Strutters Ball" that was recorded by Ella Fitzgerald and the Chick Webb band. The lyrics of this version are included in this post.
The Addendum to this post presents two brief excerpts of biographies of Shelton Brooks and a bonus video of Shelton Brooks singing one of his other compositions, "Hole in the Wall".
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/10/what-words-darktown-and-strutters.html for Part I of this series,
Part I provides information & comments about the meaning of the words in the title "Darktown Strutters Ball". That post also provides a sound file & lyrics of that early Jazz classic, and information about the song's composer, Shelton Brooks.
The content of this post is presented for historical, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Shelton Brooks, the composer of "Darktown Strutters Ball", Ella Fitzgerald, and Chick Webb & his band for their musical legacy. Thanks also to the publisher of this featured soundfile and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
****
GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT "DARKTOWN STRUTTERS BALL"
From http://parlorsongs.com/issues/2011-4/thismonth/feature.php
"Just a year after [composing] Walkin' the Dog, Brooks wrote what is his most lasting hit. I suspect that even now, nearly one hundred years later, many people could still sing at least the opening phrase of the chorus; "I'll be down to get you in a taxi honey." It is no doubt his most recorded song as well. Popularized by Sophie Tucker, it may have been introduced on Vaudeville by the young lady on the cover, Blossom Seeley. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers performed it in the film, The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle in 1937. It was also performed in other films including, Broadway (1942), Incendiary Blonde (1944), The Dolly Sisters (1946) and Little Boy Lost in 1953. Seeley was born Minnie Guyer, in San Francisco, California. A top vaudeville headliner, she was known as the "Queen of Syncopation" and helped bring jazz and ragtime into the mainstream of American music. She introduced the Shelton Brooks classic "Some of These Days" in vaudeville in 1910, one year before Sophie Tucker recorded it in 1911.
This is one of "ragtime's" greatest hits and it simply speaks for itself. Enjoy the music..
****
SHOWCASE SOUND FILE: Darktown Strutter's Ball by Ella Fitzgerald
Fireworksandsunshine, Uploaded on Jul 29, 2011
-snip-
Here are two comments from this sound file's discussion thread.
oldtimeswinger, 2012
"The recording was made on 19 November, 1936. The backing may be by Chick Webb's Band."
**
Sovery Strange, Aug 13, 2012 in reply to oldtimeswinger
"Definitely Chick Webb:)"
-snip-
Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ella_Fitzgerald for information about African American Jazz vocalist Ella Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917 – June 15, 1996).
Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chick_Webb for information about African American jazz and swing music drummer as well as band leader Chick Webb(February 10, 1905 – June 16, 1939).
****
LYRICS OF THIS VERSION: DARKTOWN STRUTTER’S BLUES
(originally written by Shelton Brooks [1917], This version as sung by Ella Fitzgerald)
I'll be down to get you in a taxi honey
Better be ready 'bout half past eight
I mean don't be late
Be there when the band starts playin'
Remember when you get there honey
Dance all over the floor, dance all over my shoes
When the band plays the Jelly Roll blues
Say t'morrow night at the darktown strutters ball
[instrumental]
I'll be down to get you in a push cart honey
Better be ready 'bout half past eight
I mean don't be late
Be there when the band starts playin'
'Member when you get there honey
Shim sham wins them all
Dance all over my shoes
When the band plays the Jelly Roll's blues
Say t'morrow night at the darktown strutters ball
Source: http://www.metrolyrics.com/darktown-strutters-ball-lyrics-ella-fitzgerald.html
-snip-
This is a shortened version of the 1917 lyrics for "Darktown Strutters' Ball".
**
"Jelly Roll Blues" (The OriginalJelly Roll Blues" is a 1915 fox trot song that was composed by African American pianist and composer Jelly Roll Morton. Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jelly_Roll_Blues for more information about this song.
**
Notice the substitution of the "Shim Sham" dance for the two step, the buck and wing and other dances that were mentioned in the 1917 version of this song.
"The Shim Sham" originally referred to and still refers to a tap dance routine.
"If you’re at a tap event, you’ll probably see the classic Shim Sham, which is a lot like Reed’s Goofus: A single chorus routine with four counts of eight bars each. According to Valis Hill’s recent book Tap Dancing America, these sections are: the double shuffle, the crossover, the Tack Annie, and the half break (also known as “falling off the log”). Source: http://www.dancespirit.com/2010/12/the_shim_sham_a_tap_tradition/ [hereafter given as dancespirit:Shim Sham]
-snip-
However, that tap dance evolved to a social dance called the "Shim Sham Shimmy".
"In the 1930s, the Shim Sham became the Shim Sham Shimmy when a quick shoulder shake was added to the choreography. Harold Cromer, a more-than-50-year tap veteran best known as Stumpy from the famous comedy tap team Stump and Stumpy, recalls learning the Shim Sham Shimmy with the chorus girls at the Apollo in NYC. “Over the years, the Shim Sham has mutated into a simple dance,” he says. “But it used to be a sexy dance. That’s what the girls were doing: the Shim Sham Shimmy with frills and heels.” Source: dancespirit:Shim Sham
-snip-
I think that the "Shim Sham Shimmy" (and not the "Shim Sham" tap dance or the "Shimmy" shaking dance) is the dance that is referred to in that "Darktown Strutters Ball" line. Here's information about the earlier "Shimmy" dance from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shimmy
"A shimmy is a dance move in which the body is held still, except for the shoulders, which are alternated back and forth. When the right shoulder goes back, the left one comes forward. It may help to hold the arms out slightly bent at the elbow, and when the shoulders are moved, keep the hands in the same position. In 1917, a dance-song titled "Shim-Me-Sha-Wabble" by Spencer Williams was published, as was "The Jazz Dance", which included the "Shimmy-She", among others. Flappers often performed the dance in the 1920s."
-snip-
In that Ella Fitzgerald version of "Darktown Strutters Ball", the line "Shim sham wins them all" alludes to the dancing contest or dancing contests that occurred during that Strutters' ball.
Part I of this pancocojams series provides information about this actual annual African American event in Chicago, Illinois.
****
ADDENDUM: INFORMATION ABOUT SHELTON BROOKS & A VIDEO OF BROOKS SINGING ONE OF HIS COMPOSITIONS
From http://www.aaregistry.org/historic_events/view/lyricist-extraordinaire-shelton-brooks "African American Registry
Tue, 1886-05-04"
"Shelton Brooks, a popular African American music composer, was born on this date in 1886,in Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada.
At about the age of 15, in 1901, he and his family moved to Detroit. Brooks sang, played piano, and performed in vaudeville and in musical comedies. He had a songwriting career and a radio show on the CBS network in the 1930s.
Brooks wrote some of the biggest hits of the first third of the 20th century. His compositions included "All Night Long," "At the Darktown Strutters' Ball," "Every Day," "Some of These Days," "Somewhere in France," "Swing That Thing," "That Man of Mine," "There'll Come A Time," and "Walkin' The Dog." Shelton Brooks died on September 6, 1975."
****
From http://www.allmusic.com/artist/shelton-brooks-mn0000024890/biography
"Shelton Brooks was raised in Detroit and began his career as a ragtime piano player, initially entertaining the public in Detroit's cafes and nightclubs, then expanding his territory to include Chicago. It was right around 1909 that Brooks began to compose his own material. By this time he had also developed into an accomplished vaudeville entertainer. Brooks toured the United States of America, Canada, and the British Isles.
"Some of These Days" was published in 1910 and eventually sold more than two million units on the sheet music market. It was also destined to become a jazz standard. Barry Singer, in his biography of lyricist Andy Razaf, claims that this number was "...perhaps the landmark song of this Tin Pan Alley epoch, whereby Brooks, with sophisticated lyric colloquialism and heartfelt passion, elevated the coon song into the realm of expressive emotion." Brooks wrote "All Night Long" in 1912 and "Walkin' the Dog" in 1916. He should also be remembered as the composer of "I Wonder Where My Easy Rider's Gone."
But it was "The Darktown Strutter's Ball" that constituted Brooks' next big hit. First circulated on the vaudeville circuit, this rowdy syncopated novelty just happened to get utilized by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band at their first recording session on January 30, 1917. This first nominal jazz record sold like hotcakes, and the sheet music sales exceeded three million... It was as a performer on-stage, in movies, and on the radio that Brooks continued to circulate after he stopped composing great melodies."...
****
Shelton Brooks - Hole in the Wall
Adamgswanson, Uploaded on Nov 26, 2009
Shelton Brooks, composer of "Some of These Days" and "Darktown Strutters' Ball," sings "Hole in the Wall." From a 1939 all-black film, Double Deal. The credits state Brooks also wrote another song for the movie, "Jitterbugs Cuttin' Rugs," but apparently it was cut from the film.
****
Thank you for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Friday, October 24, 2014
What The Words "Darktown Strutters Ball" REALLY Mean
Edited by Azizi Powell
This is Part I of a two part series on the Jazz classic "Darktown Strutters Ball".
Part I provides information & comments about the meaning of the words in the title "Darktown Strutters Ball". It also provides a sound file & lyrics of that early Jazz classic, and information about the song's composer, Shelton Brooks.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/10/ella-fitzgerald-darktown-strutters-ball.html for Part II of this series. Part II showcases a 1936 example of "Darktown Strutters Ball" that was recorded by Ella Fitzgerald and the Chick Webb band. That post also includes other two brief excerpts of biographies of Shelton Brooks as well as a bonus video of Shelton Brooks singing one of his other compositions.
The content of this post is presented for historical, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Shelton Brooks for his musical legacy and thanks to the other performers who are featured in sound files that are showcased in this post. Thanks also to the publisher of this featured soundfile and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
****
WHAT THE WORDS "DARKTOWN STRUTTERS' BALL REALLY MEAN
DARKTOWN
In the now classic 1917 song "Darktown Strutters' Ball", "darktown" is a referent for a section of Chicago where Black people lived.
In my opinion, in the context of the Jazz song "Darktown Strutters' Ball", the word "darktown" isn't racist, but a similar word "darkie" is. That said, some use of the word "darktown" is racist.
Read this comment posted by Marjorie Searl (September 12, 2011) in http://www.harmonicdissidents.org/issue-3-columns/letters-issue-3/ as a response to a question about "Is the song "Darktown Strutters' Ball" racist:
"It’s interesting and horrifying to google “Darktown” and see how many horribly racist images come up. Currier & Ives did a whole series called the “Darktown” series and it is a challenge for museums to deal with this material, although it is part of the art historical record."... http://www.harmonicdissidents.org/issue-3-columns/letters-issue-3/
It seems likely to me that the phrase "Darktown" may have been informally given to that section of Chicago as a statement of fact. And there's nothing wrong with being dark. In contrast the word "darkie" was probably coined by White people as a referent to Black people. "Darkie" has blackface minstrel origins. Unlike the word "darktown" in the song "Darktown Strutters' Ball", the word "darkie" evokes offensive stereotypes of Black people who speak in exaggerated dialects. Contrast that with the lack of dialect in the "Darktown Strutters' Ball" song and the images of Black people in that song who are wearing formal, fashionable clothing and taking a taxi to arrive at the an elite ball.
That said, I believe that nowadays it would be socially inappropriate to refer to a neighborhood or neighborhoods where Black people live as "darktown" or refer to other neighborhoods using color referents. Read additonal comments that I wrote about the word "darktown" in the pancocojams post on Blind Willie McTell - "Georgia Rag http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/10/blind-willie-mctell-georgia-rag-sound.html
****
STRUTTERS
In the 1917 Jazz song "Darktown Strutters' Ball" the word "strutters" is an equivalent term for "dancers". After studying the original lyrics to that song, it seems clear to me that that word doesn't refer to a particular dance called the "Strut" that was done at that ball. Instead, the dancers competed for a prize (or prizes) by "dancing out both of their shoes" doing "the two step", "the classic buck and wing", the wooden clog", "Walkin The Dog", and probably other African American originated social dances. (The 1936 version that Ella Fitzgerald sung included the lyrics "Shim sham wins them all" meaning dancing the "Shim Sham" (the Shimmy) would win the dance competition for that couple.)
That said, it's interesting to read comments on a discussion thread of word reference forum about the meaning of "strutters" in the "Darktown Strutters Ball" song. Here's the first commeent in that discussion and one response:
blue baron, 17th July 2009 [Native language:Dutch]
"'Darktown Strutters' Ball.' is one of the earliest traditional jazz songs to become a standard. The words and music, by Shelton Brooks, were inspired by a ball at the 1915 Pacific-Panama Exposition in San Francisco.
What is the meaning of "strutter" in this title?"
**
Franzi (Native language:(San Francisco) English) 17th July 2009
"You're probably best off searching for books on jazz history. Google books has, for example, Jazz Dance by Marshall & Jean Stearns, which contains quotes like:
"He was a strutter in the cakewalk tradition and an eccentric dancer who employed legomania, a rhythmic twisting and turning of the legs."
http://books.google.com/books?id=KT-Y5ddqmTEC&printsec=frontcover
There appear to be many, many jazz groups called "The [something] Strutters".
Here is a reference to the dance (which I suppose probably preceded the use of 'strutter' as a noun for a certain kind of person): "In November 1937, Dancing Times reported a new dance craze: 'Such steps as the Shag, the Flea Hop, the Strut, and the Walk are combined with the new Big Apple.'"
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/good-questions--dragging-out-the-lobster-theory-1392545.html*
From the Online Etymology Dictionary: "To strut (one's) stuff is black slang, first recorded 1926, from strut as the name of a dance popular from c.1900. "
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=strut
-snip-
*This quote appears midway in the article and is excerpted from the response to the question "Why is New York called "The Big Apple". [Note that the Big Apple dance doesn't refer to New York City. Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2015/04/the-big-apple-dance-secular-dance-that.html for a panococjams post on the Big Apple dance.]
Another commenter to that discussion,Eamnyc22, gave the definition of "to strut" as "to walk proudly or haughtily." That blogger also wrote that "If I had to guess, the original dance probably looked a lot more like what African-Americans today call "stepping" (the dancers are called "Steppers")"
-snip-
I disagree with that analogy unless the commenter is referring to the "strolls" (also known as "party walks") that historically Black (African American) fraternity and sorority members do. (Visit this page of my cocojams cultural website to view videos of steppin' and strolls. "The Camel Walk" is a mid to late 20th century African American originated dance form that reminds me of fraternity/sorority strolls and thus may be similar to "The Strut" dance. That movement is called "riding" when it is performed by members of the Black fraternal order The Prince Hall Shriners. Visit this page of my zumalayah blog (a blog that I admit to neglecting) for this post on "rince Hall Shriners Riding (Doing The Camel Walk)" http://zumalayah.blogspot.com/2013/05/prince-hall-shriners-riding-doing-camel.html
-snip-
But an even closer connection can be made between the 19th century Strut dance and the Cakewalk dance.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2015/04/strut-miss-lizzie-information-lyrics.html for a pancocojams post on the song "Strut Miss Lizzie".
****
THE STORY BEHIND THE "DARKTOWN STRUTTERS BALL" SONG
From http://www.harmonicdissidents.org/issue-3-columns/letters-issue-3/, posted by TheProf, January 11, 2012 [excerpt]
"The “Darktown Ball” was, in fact, a real event, but it did not start out as being for the higher classes. It was originated by the ladies of the evening in the Darktown area of Chicago. They decided to create the ball as their way of showing that, for at least 1 night per year, they were just as good as everyone else. It was by invitation only and, over time, became THE most sought after ticket. Even the Major of Chicago could not attend without an invitation.
The composer was Shelton Brooks, a black man who was celebrating the event and the fact that it had become such an important part of the city’s history..."
-snip-
The word "ball" is still used to refer to a formal event where dancing is the main activity. Almost always balls include eating a catered meal, drinking alcoholic beverages, and being entertained by some performance act or acts. (Notice the reference to the "Baby Dolls" that is given in the original lyrics to this song. My guess is that the "Baby Dolls" were a group of young women who performed some kind of dance act on stage.)
****
SHOWCASE EXAMPLES
[Pancocojams Editor's note 12/14/2018: The original sound file that was embedded in this post is no longer available. I've retained the comments and transcriptions about the sound file and added two additional examples to this post.]
Example #1: 1917 Collins & Harlan - Darktown Strutters’ Ball [sound file]
MusicProf78, Published on Apr 14, 2018
One of the best-selling early versions of the much-recorded pop and jazz standard, performed by the prolific recording duo of Arthur Collins and Byron G. Harlan.
Original 78rpm from the Bob Moke Collection: Columbia A2478 - Darktown Strutters’ Ball (Shelton Brooks) by Collins and Harlan, recorded in NYC December 21, 1917
****
Example #2: The Charioteers - Darktown Strutters' Ball [film clip]
505damush, Published on Jul 6, 2008
****
ORIGINAL SHOWCASE SOUND FILE: "The Darktown Strutters' Ball" The American Quartet 1918 (with lyrics)
Brent Abrahamson, Published on Jul 30, 2013
It's a Southbridge Old Time Radio Nostalgia Song.
"The Darktown Strutters' Ball" American Quartet 1918 (with lyrics)
-snip-
Southbridge Old Time Radio is from Southbridge, Massachusetts.
**
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Quartet_(ensemble)
“The American Quartet was a four-member vocal group that recorded for various companies in the United States between 1899 and 1925".
-snip-
Those vocalists were Anglo-American.
**
"Darktown Strutters' Ball" begins at 1:44 in this sound file.
The words to that song are superimposed on the screen and are found below.
**
Here's my transcription of the radio host's introductory comments:
"This is Brent Abrahamson your host on Southbridge Old Time Radio.
As we look back at very old songs in our American history, we’re faced with a significant problem –How do we deal with ethnic songs, songs sung in dialect? It’s not a pleasant part of our music history to explore. Yet, it is one which we should not forget. Some recordings from the early 20th century were indeed filled with racial stereotypes. They were even known as “coon songs”. Some belong in the dust bin of history.
Smash hits such as the "Darktown Strutters Ball" may deserve special recognition. First of all the song was written by a Canadian, the Black composer Shelton Brooks. Second, it depicts an African American annual event in Chicago when people got all dressed up and let themselves go, refusing to play the second class citizen that society had assigned them to, at least for one night. It reflects an attitude that signaled determination to break the bonds. Finally, it’s a catchy tune. The American Quartet clearly had fun singing it. And, it’s been recorded, minus the dialect many times since. So with all that said, Here is the American Quartet 1918 with Dark Town Strutters Ball.
-snip-
Transcription by Azizi Powell. Additions and corrections are welcome.
For the most part I agree with Brent Abrahamson's comments. To be clear, I don't consider the use of the word "darktown" in that song to be racist. However, Black composed songs about Black people can be offensive- Ernest Hogan's "All Coons Look Alike to Me" is just one example.
Also, when Brent Abrahamson says that [Darktown Strutters Ball has "been recorded, minus the dialect many times", I think that by "dialect", he means African American vernacular words such as "highbrowns". That isn't what I think of when I hear or read the word "dialect".
****
THE LYRICS TO "DARKTOWN STRUTTERS BALL"
Words and Music by SHELTON BROOKS
Published 1917, by Will Rossiter
[Verse 1.]
I've got some good news Honey,
An invitation to the Darktown Ball,
It's a very swell affair,
All the "highbrowns" will be there,
I'll wear my high silk hat, and a frocktail coat,
You wear your Paris gown. and your new silk shawl,
There ain't no douby about it babe,
We'll be the best dressed in the hall.
[Chorus]
I'll be down to get you in a Taxi honey,
You better be ready about half past eight,
Now dearie don't be late,
I want to be there when the band starts playing.
Remember when we get there,Honey,
the two steps I'm goin' to have em all,
Goin' to dance out both my shoes:
When they play the "Jelly Roll Blues,"
Tomorrow night at the Darktown Strutter's Ball.
[Verse 2.]
We'll meet our hightoned neighbors,
an exhibition of the "Baby dolls,"
And each one will do their best,
Just to outclass all the rest,
And there'll be dancers from ev'ry foreign land,
The classie, buck and wing, and the wooden clog:
We'll winn that fifty dollar prize,
When we step out and "Walk the Dog."
[Chorus]
From http://parlorsongs.com/content/d/dktownstrutters-lyr.php
Those same lyrics are also found on http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/c/chet_atkins/darktown_strutters_ball.html. That page also provides some explanations of some of those lyrics but doesn't give any explanations for the word "darktown" or "strutters".
One of the terms it does explain is "highbrown" -"Either light-skinned or well-to-do African-Americans. Compare with 'high-yellow" as a designation for persons of mixed race, and lighter complexion".
For what it's worth, I think that "highbrown" originally meant a light skinned Black person, but in the context of this record means a well-to-do Black person. Note that because of various reasons, until at least the mid 20th century, light skin color was generally considered a criteria of elitism for African Americans. I also think that the word "hightones" probably has the same meaning.
Another phrase that that site explains is "Walking the Dog" -
The composer of this song ["Darktown Strutters Ball"] Shelton Brooks also wrote a song and invented a dance known as Walkin' the Dog. The lyrics to the song describe how to do the dance"a song that Shelton Brooks wrote in 1916".
-snip-
Click http://parlorsongs.com/content/w/walkinthedog-lyr.php for the lyrics to Shelton Brooks' Walkin' The Dog".
By the way, besides its title and the fact that the song is about a "new dance craze", and the song includes some dance instructions, Shelton Brooks's "Walkin The Dog" is nothing like the Rufus Thomas' 1963 song of the same name.
****
ADDENDUM - INFORMATION ABOUT SHELTON BROOKS
Here are links to two biographies of Shelton Brooks and brief excerpts from those websites.
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shelton_Brooks
"Shelton Brooks (May 4, 1886 – September 6, 1975) was a Canadian composer of popular music and jazz,[1] who wrote some of the biggest hits of the first third of the 20th century"...
Brooks' works include Some of These Days, At the Darktown Strutters' Ball,[3] I Wonder Where My Easy Rider's Gone, Every Day, All Night Long, Somewhere in France, Swing That Thing, That Man of Mine, There'll Come A Time, and Walkin' the Dog."
****
From http://jass.com/sheltonbrooks/brooks.html
"Shelton Brooks was born to Native American & Black parents in Amherstburg, Ontario, on May 4, 1886...
Along with W. C. Handy and William Grant Still, the dean of black classical composers, Brooks was honored in San Francisco at the ASCAP-sponsored Festival of American Music in 1940. He died in Los Angeles on September 6, 1975."
****
Thank you for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
This is Part I of a two part series on the Jazz classic "Darktown Strutters Ball".
Part I provides information & comments about the meaning of the words in the title "Darktown Strutters Ball". It also provides a sound file & lyrics of that early Jazz classic, and information about the song's composer, Shelton Brooks.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/10/ella-fitzgerald-darktown-strutters-ball.html for Part II of this series. Part II showcases a 1936 example of "Darktown Strutters Ball" that was recorded by Ella Fitzgerald and the Chick Webb band. That post also includes other two brief excerpts of biographies of Shelton Brooks as well as a bonus video of Shelton Brooks singing one of his other compositions.
The content of this post is presented for historical, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Shelton Brooks for his musical legacy and thanks to the other performers who are featured in sound files that are showcased in this post. Thanks also to the publisher of this featured soundfile and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
****
WHAT THE WORDS "DARKTOWN STRUTTERS' BALL REALLY MEAN
DARKTOWN
In the now classic 1917 song "Darktown Strutters' Ball", "darktown" is a referent for a section of Chicago where Black people lived.
In my opinion, in the context of the Jazz song "Darktown Strutters' Ball", the word "darktown" isn't racist, but a similar word "darkie" is. That said, some use of the word "darktown" is racist.
Read this comment posted by Marjorie Searl (September 12, 2011) in http://www.harmonicdissidents.org/issue-3-columns/letters-issue-3/ as a response to a question about "Is the song "Darktown Strutters' Ball" racist:
"It’s interesting and horrifying to google “Darktown” and see how many horribly racist images come up. Currier & Ives did a whole series called the “Darktown” series and it is a challenge for museums to deal with this material, although it is part of the art historical record."... http://www.harmonicdissidents.org/issue-3-columns/letters-issue-3/
It seems likely to me that the phrase "Darktown" may have been informally given to that section of Chicago as a statement of fact. And there's nothing wrong with being dark. In contrast the word "darkie" was probably coined by White people as a referent to Black people. "Darkie" has blackface minstrel origins. Unlike the word "darktown" in the song "Darktown Strutters' Ball", the word "darkie" evokes offensive stereotypes of Black people who speak in exaggerated dialects. Contrast that with the lack of dialect in the "Darktown Strutters' Ball" song and the images of Black people in that song who are wearing formal, fashionable clothing and taking a taxi to arrive at the an elite ball.
That said, I believe that nowadays it would be socially inappropriate to refer to a neighborhood or neighborhoods where Black people live as "darktown" or refer to other neighborhoods using color referents. Read additonal comments that I wrote about the word "darktown" in the pancocojams post on Blind Willie McTell - "Georgia Rag http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/10/blind-willie-mctell-georgia-rag-sound.html
****
STRUTTERS
In the 1917 Jazz song "Darktown Strutters' Ball" the word "strutters" is an equivalent term for "dancers". After studying the original lyrics to that song, it seems clear to me that that word doesn't refer to a particular dance called the "Strut" that was done at that ball. Instead, the dancers competed for a prize (or prizes) by "dancing out both of their shoes" doing "the two step", "the classic buck and wing", the wooden clog", "Walkin The Dog", and probably other African American originated social dances. (The 1936 version that Ella Fitzgerald sung included the lyrics "Shim sham wins them all" meaning dancing the "Shim Sham" (the Shimmy) would win the dance competition for that couple.)
That said, it's interesting to read comments on a discussion thread of word reference forum about the meaning of "strutters" in the "Darktown Strutters Ball" song. Here's the first commeent in that discussion and one response:
blue baron, 17th July 2009 [Native language:Dutch]
"'Darktown Strutters' Ball.' is one of the earliest traditional jazz songs to become a standard. The words and music, by Shelton Brooks, were inspired by a ball at the 1915 Pacific-Panama Exposition in San Francisco.
What is the meaning of "strutter" in this title?"
**
Franzi (Native language:(San Francisco) English) 17th July 2009
"You're probably best off searching for books on jazz history. Google books has, for example, Jazz Dance by Marshall & Jean Stearns, which contains quotes like:
"He was a strutter in the cakewalk tradition and an eccentric dancer who employed legomania, a rhythmic twisting and turning of the legs."
http://books.google.com/books?id=KT-Y5ddqmTEC&printsec=frontcover
There appear to be many, many jazz groups called "The [something] Strutters".
Here is a reference to the dance (which I suppose probably preceded the use of 'strutter' as a noun for a certain kind of person): "In November 1937, Dancing Times reported a new dance craze: 'Such steps as the Shag, the Flea Hop, the Strut, and the Walk are combined with the new Big Apple.'"
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/good-questions--dragging-out-the-lobster-theory-1392545.html*
From the Online Etymology Dictionary: "To strut (one's) stuff is black slang, first recorded 1926, from strut as the name of a dance popular from c.1900. "
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=strut
-snip-
*This quote appears midway in the article and is excerpted from the response to the question "Why is New York called "The Big Apple". [Note that the Big Apple dance doesn't refer to New York City. Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2015/04/the-big-apple-dance-secular-dance-that.html for a panococjams post on the Big Apple dance.]
Another commenter to that discussion,Eamnyc22, gave the definition of "to strut" as "to walk proudly or haughtily." That blogger also wrote that "If I had to guess, the original dance probably looked a lot more like what African-Americans today call "stepping" (the dancers are called "Steppers")"
-snip-
I disagree with that analogy unless the commenter is referring to the "strolls" (also known as "party walks") that historically Black (African American) fraternity and sorority members do. (Visit this page of my cocojams cultural website to view videos of steppin' and strolls. "The Camel Walk" is a mid to late 20th century African American originated dance form that reminds me of fraternity/sorority strolls and thus may be similar to "The Strut" dance. That movement is called "riding" when it is performed by members of the Black fraternal order The Prince Hall Shriners. Visit this page of my zumalayah blog (a blog that I admit to neglecting) for this post on "rince Hall Shriners Riding (Doing The Camel Walk)" http://zumalayah.blogspot.com/2013/05/prince-hall-shriners-riding-doing-camel.html
-snip-
But an even closer connection can be made between the 19th century Strut dance and the Cakewalk dance.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2015/04/strut-miss-lizzie-information-lyrics.html for a pancocojams post on the song "Strut Miss Lizzie".
****
THE STORY BEHIND THE "DARKTOWN STRUTTERS BALL" SONG
From http://www.harmonicdissidents.org/issue-3-columns/letters-issue-3/, posted by TheProf, January 11, 2012 [excerpt]
"The “Darktown Ball” was, in fact, a real event, but it did not start out as being for the higher classes. It was originated by the ladies of the evening in the Darktown area of Chicago. They decided to create the ball as their way of showing that, for at least 1 night per year, they were just as good as everyone else. It was by invitation only and, over time, became THE most sought after ticket. Even the Major of Chicago could not attend without an invitation.
The composer was Shelton Brooks, a black man who was celebrating the event and the fact that it had become such an important part of the city’s history..."
-snip-
The word "ball" is still used to refer to a formal event where dancing is the main activity. Almost always balls include eating a catered meal, drinking alcoholic beverages, and being entertained by some performance act or acts. (Notice the reference to the "Baby Dolls" that is given in the original lyrics to this song. My guess is that the "Baby Dolls" were a group of young women who performed some kind of dance act on stage.)
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SHOWCASE EXAMPLES
[Pancocojams Editor's note 12/14/2018: The original sound file that was embedded in this post is no longer available. I've retained the comments and transcriptions about the sound file and added two additional examples to this post.]
Example #1: 1917 Collins & Harlan - Darktown Strutters’ Ball [sound file]
MusicProf78, Published on Apr 14, 2018
One of the best-selling early versions of the much-recorded pop and jazz standard, performed by the prolific recording duo of Arthur Collins and Byron G. Harlan.
Original 78rpm from the Bob Moke Collection: Columbia A2478 - Darktown Strutters’ Ball (Shelton Brooks) by Collins and Harlan, recorded in NYC December 21, 1917
****
Example #2: The Charioteers - Darktown Strutters' Ball [film clip]
505damush, Published on Jul 6, 2008
****
ORIGINAL SHOWCASE SOUND FILE: "The Darktown Strutters' Ball" The American Quartet 1918 (with lyrics)
Brent Abrahamson, Published on Jul 30, 2013
It's a Southbridge Old Time Radio Nostalgia Song.
"The Darktown Strutters' Ball" American Quartet 1918 (with lyrics)
-snip-
Southbridge Old Time Radio is from Southbridge, Massachusetts.
**
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Quartet_(ensemble)
“The American Quartet was a four-member vocal group that recorded for various companies in the United States between 1899 and 1925".
-snip-
Those vocalists were Anglo-American.
**
"Darktown Strutters' Ball" begins at 1:44 in this sound file.
The words to that song are superimposed on the screen and are found below.
**
Here's my transcription of the radio host's introductory comments:
"This is Brent Abrahamson your host on Southbridge Old Time Radio.
As we look back at very old songs in our American history, we’re faced with a significant problem –How do we deal with ethnic songs, songs sung in dialect? It’s not a pleasant part of our music history to explore. Yet, it is one which we should not forget. Some recordings from the early 20th century were indeed filled with racial stereotypes. They were even known as “coon songs”. Some belong in the dust bin of history.
Smash hits such as the "Darktown Strutters Ball" may deserve special recognition. First of all the song was written by a Canadian, the Black composer Shelton Brooks. Second, it depicts an African American annual event in Chicago when people got all dressed up and let themselves go, refusing to play the second class citizen that society had assigned them to, at least for one night. It reflects an attitude that signaled determination to break the bonds. Finally, it’s a catchy tune. The American Quartet clearly had fun singing it. And, it’s been recorded, minus the dialect many times since. So with all that said, Here is the American Quartet 1918 with Dark Town Strutters Ball.
-snip-
Transcription by Azizi Powell. Additions and corrections are welcome.
For the most part I agree with Brent Abrahamson's comments. To be clear, I don't consider the use of the word "darktown" in that song to be racist. However, Black composed songs about Black people can be offensive- Ernest Hogan's "All Coons Look Alike to Me" is just one example.
Also, when Brent Abrahamson says that [Darktown Strutters Ball has "been recorded, minus the dialect many times", I think that by "dialect", he means African American vernacular words such as "highbrowns". That isn't what I think of when I hear or read the word "dialect".
****
THE LYRICS TO "DARKTOWN STRUTTERS BALL"
Words and Music by SHELTON BROOKS
Published 1917, by Will Rossiter
[Verse 1.]
I've got some good news Honey,
An invitation to the Darktown Ball,
It's a very swell affair,
All the "highbrowns" will be there,
I'll wear my high silk hat, and a frocktail coat,
You wear your Paris gown. and your new silk shawl,
There ain't no douby about it babe,
We'll be the best dressed in the hall.
[Chorus]
I'll be down to get you in a Taxi honey,
You better be ready about half past eight,
Now dearie don't be late,
I want to be there when the band starts playing.
Remember when we get there,Honey,
the two steps I'm goin' to have em all,
Goin' to dance out both my shoes:
When they play the "Jelly Roll Blues,"
Tomorrow night at the Darktown Strutter's Ball.
[Verse 2.]
We'll meet our hightoned neighbors,
an exhibition of the "Baby dolls,"
And each one will do their best,
Just to outclass all the rest,
And there'll be dancers from ev'ry foreign land,
The classie, buck and wing, and the wooden clog:
We'll winn that fifty dollar prize,
When we step out and "Walk the Dog."
[Chorus]
From http://parlorsongs.com/content/d/dktownstrutters-lyr.php
Those same lyrics are also found on http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/c/chet_atkins/darktown_strutters_ball.html. That page also provides some explanations of some of those lyrics but doesn't give any explanations for the word "darktown" or "strutters".
One of the terms it does explain is "highbrown" -"Either light-skinned or well-to-do African-Americans. Compare with 'high-yellow" as a designation for persons of mixed race, and lighter complexion".
For what it's worth, I think that "highbrown" originally meant a light skinned Black person, but in the context of this record means a well-to-do Black person. Note that because of various reasons, until at least the mid 20th century, light skin color was generally considered a criteria of elitism for African Americans. I also think that the word "hightones" probably has the same meaning.
Another phrase that that site explains is "Walking the Dog" -
The composer of this song ["Darktown Strutters Ball"] Shelton Brooks also wrote a song and invented a dance known as Walkin' the Dog. The lyrics to the song describe how to do the dance"a song that Shelton Brooks wrote in 1916".
-snip-
Click http://parlorsongs.com/content/w/walkinthedog-lyr.php for the lyrics to Shelton Brooks' Walkin' The Dog".
By the way, besides its title and the fact that the song is about a "new dance craze", and the song includes some dance instructions, Shelton Brooks's "Walkin The Dog" is nothing like the Rufus Thomas' 1963 song of the same name.
****
ADDENDUM - INFORMATION ABOUT SHELTON BROOKS
Here are links to two biographies of Shelton Brooks and brief excerpts from those websites.
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shelton_Brooks
"Shelton Brooks (May 4, 1886 – September 6, 1975) was a Canadian composer of popular music and jazz,[1] who wrote some of the biggest hits of the first third of the 20th century"...
Brooks' works include Some of These Days, At the Darktown Strutters' Ball,[3] I Wonder Where My Easy Rider's Gone, Every Day, All Night Long, Somewhere in France, Swing That Thing, That Man of Mine, There'll Come A Time, and Walkin' the Dog."
****
From http://jass.com/sheltonbrooks/brooks.html
"Shelton Brooks was born to Native American & Black parents in Amherstburg, Ontario, on May 4, 1886...
Along with W. C. Handy and William Grant Still, the dean of black classical composers, Brooks was honored in San Francisco at the ASCAP-sponsored Festival of American Music in 1940. He died in Los Angeles on September 6, 1975."
****
Thank you for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Thursday, October 23, 2014
Blind Willie McTell - "Georgia Rag" (sound file & lyrics)
Edited by Azizi Powell
This post showcases a 1931 sound file of "Georgia Rag" by Blind Willie McTell. My transcription of the lyrics to this song are also included in this post along with my comments about the meaning of some of those lyrics.
The Addendum to this post provides some information about Rags [music].
The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Blind Willie McTell for his musical legacy. Thanks also to the publisher of this video.
RELATED LINK
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/10/blind-blake-wabash-rag-sound-file-lyrics.html for a pancocojams post on Blind Blake's 1927 record "Wabash Rag". That song served as the prototype for Blind Willie McTell's "Georgia Rag".
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SHOWCASE SOUND FILE: Georgia Rag (Blind Willie McTell, October 1931) Ragtime Guitar Legend
RagtimeDorianHenry, Uploaded on May 22, 2009
"Georgia Rag " (October 1931)
-snip-
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_Willie_McTell
"Blind Willie McTell (born William Samuel McTier; May 5, 1898 – August 19, 1959) was a Piedmont and ragtime blues singer and guitarist."...
****
LYRICS: GEORGIA RAG
(Blind Willie McTell)
Down in Atlanta on Harris Street
That's where the boys and gals do meet
Doin' that rag, that Georgia Rag
Out in the alley, in the street
Every little kid that you meet
Doin that rag, that wuh* Georgia Rag
[Spoken] Sing that Georgia Rag, boy.
[instrumental]
[Sung] Buzz around like a bee
Shake it like a ship on the sea
That wild Rag, that crazy Rag
Better known as the Georgia Rag
Came all the way from Paris, France.
Come in to Atlanta to get a chance.
Doin' that rag, that Georgia Rag
[Spoken words something like "Put it a little bit on it”]
[Instrumental]
{Sung] That Georgia Rag
Grab me mama and hold me tight
Let's mess around the rest of the night
Doin' that rag. That Georgia Rag
[Spoken] Sing that Georgia Rag!
[Sung] I sure like that Georgia Rag
I’m wild about that Georgia Rag
I mean that Georgie Rag, Georgie Rag
Buzz around like a bee
Shake it like a ship on the sea
That wild Rag, that crazy Rag
Better known as the Georgia Rag
[Spoken: I wouldn’t. That makes me feel good right in there]
[Instrumental]
[Sung] Rustle your head way up high
Grab your daddy and make him cry
Doin that Rag, that rag
That Georgia Rag.
I’m wild about that Georgia Rag
I mean that Georgie Rag, Georgie Rag
Why don’t you buzz around like a bee
Shake it like a ship on the sea
That wild Rag, that crazy Rag
Better known as the Georgia Rag
Spoken: Ah pull it now.
[instrumental]
Sung: Ah you shake it like a ship on the sea
And buzz around like a bee.
Ah, that wild Rag, that crazy Rag
Better known as the Georgia Rag
People come from miles around
Come to darktown to break it down
Doin' that rag, that Georgia Rag
Out in darktown night and day
Trying to dance them Blues away
[Spoken] Alright now boy, sang ‘em?
[instrumental]
That wild Rag, that crazy Rag
Better known as that Georgia Rag
Ah, I went back to Newport News
Singin these doggone Atlanta Blues
Doin that Rag, that Georgia Rag
[Spoken] – Alright now, play ‘em.
[instrumental]
[Sung] Why don’t you buzz around like a bee
Shake it like a ship on the sea
That wild Rag, that crazy Rag
Better known as the Georgia Rag
-snip-
Transcription by Azizi Powell. Additions and corrections are welcome.
Explanations for certain words & phrases.
"Mama" = a female who is man's lover
"Daddy = a man who is a female's lover
"break 'em down" (break them down) = dance really good
I think that the word "them" in "break 'em down" refers to the dance moves.
When you break something down, you take something apart in order to know how it works. As a result of that action, you should understand it better than before. I think that in the same way, if you break down a dance, you know how to do it better than ever.
I think that the word "them" in "break 'em down" refers to the dance moves.
"that wild Rag, that crazy Rag" = uptempo music that people dance to frenetically, or at least in ways that are the opposite of sedate.
"Shake it like a ship on the sea" = "it" refers to your butt and/or your hips
"Rustle your head way up high = "shake your head while you hold it up high (don't look down)
"Newport News" = a city located in the state of Virginia
"Darktown" - a referent for a section of Chicago where Black people lived. In my opinion, in the context of the Jazz song "Darktown Strutters' Ball", the word "darktown" isn't racist, but a similar word "darkie" is. That said, some use of the word "darktown" is racist.
Nowadays it would be socially unacceptable to refer to any section of a town as "darktown", not to mention that it's illegal to prohibit people from living where they want to because of their race, ethnicity, religion etc. That said, for various reasons including economic and choice, most major cities in the United States still have neighborhoods in which all or the majority of the residents are Black.
The use of "darktown" almost certainly came from the hit 1917 Jazz song "Darktown Strutters' Ball", which was written by Black composer Shelton Brooks. A post about that song will be published ASAP. Read additional comments about that word in this pancocojams post on Darktown Strutters' Ball" http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/10/what-words-darktown-and-strutters.html
****
ADDENDUM: INFORMATION ABOUT "RAGS" (RAGTIME MUSIC)
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ragtime
"Ragtime (alternatively spelled rag-time or rag time)[1] is a musical genre that enjoyed its peak popularity between 1895 and 1918.[2] Its main characteristic trait is its syncopated, or "ragged," rhythm...
Ragtime originated in African American music in the late 19th century, descending from the jigs and march music played by African American bands.[13] By the start of the 20th century, it became widely popular throughout North America and was listened and danced to, performed, and written by people of many different subcultures. A distinctly American musical style, ragtime may be considered a synthesis of African syncopation and European classical music, especially the marches made popular by John Philip Sousa.
Some early piano rags are entitled marches, and "jig" and "rag" were used interchangeably in the mid-1890s.[13] Ragtime was also preceded by its close relative the cakewalk. In 1895, black entertainer Ernest Hogan published two of the earliest sheet music rags...
The emergence of mature ragtime is usually dated to 1897, the year in which several important early rags were published. In 1899, Scott Joplin's "Maple Leaf Rag" was published and became a great hit and demonstrated more depth and sophistication than earlier ragtime. Ragtime was one of the main influences on the early development of jazz (along with the blues). Some artists, such as Jelly Roll Morton, were present and performed both ragtime and jazz styles during the period the two genres overlapped. He also incorporated the Spanish Tinge in his performances, which gave a habanera or tango rhythm to his music.[17] Jazz largely surpassed ragtime in mainstream popularity in the early 1920s, although ragtime compositions continue to be written up to the present, and periodic revivals of popular interest in ragtime occurred in the 1950s and the 1970s."
-snip-
Note that Blind Blake's "The Wabash Rag" (and Blind Willie McTell's "Georgia Rag" which copied that song) focus on the dance that is done to the Rag music, and not the music itself.
Blind Willie McTell's song describes the type of dancing that was done to his song more than Blind Blake does.
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
This post showcases a 1931 sound file of "Georgia Rag" by Blind Willie McTell. My transcription of the lyrics to this song are also included in this post along with my comments about the meaning of some of those lyrics.
The Addendum to this post provides some information about Rags [music].
The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Blind Willie McTell for his musical legacy. Thanks also to the publisher of this video.
RELATED LINK
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/10/blind-blake-wabash-rag-sound-file-lyrics.html for a pancocojams post on Blind Blake's 1927 record "Wabash Rag". That song served as the prototype for Blind Willie McTell's "Georgia Rag".
****
SHOWCASE SOUND FILE: Georgia Rag (Blind Willie McTell, October 1931) Ragtime Guitar Legend
RagtimeDorianHenry, Uploaded on May 22, 2009
"Georgia Rag " (October 1931)
-snip-
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_Willie_McTell
"Blind Willie McTell (born William Samuel McTier; May 5, 1898 – August 19, 1959) was a Piedmont and ragtime blues singer and guitarist."...
****
LYRICS: GEORGIA RAG
(Blind Willie McTell)
Down in Atlanta on Harris Street
That's where the boys and gals do meet
Doin' that rag, that Georgia Rag
Out in the alley, in the street
Every little kid that you meet
Doin that rag, that wuh* Georgia Rag
[Spoken] Sing that Georgia Rag, boy.
[instrumental]
[Sung] Buzz around like a bee
Shake it like a ship on the sea
That wild Rag, that crazy Rag
Better known as the Georgia Rag
Came all the way from Paris, France.
Come in to Atlanta to get a chance.
Doin' that rag, that Georgia Rag
[Spoken words something like "Put it a little bit on it”]
[Instrumental]
{Sung] That Georgia Rag
Grab me mama and hold me tight
Let's mess around the rest of the night
Doin' that rag. That Georgia Rag
[Spoken] Sing that Georgia Rag!
[Sung] I sure like that Georgia Rag
I’m wild about that Georgia Rag
I mean that Georgie Rag, Georgie Rag
Buzz around like a bee
Shake it like a ship on the sea
That wild Rag, that crazy Rag
Better known as the Georgia Rag
[Spoken: I wouldn’t. That makes me feel good right in there]
[Instrumental]
[Sung] Rustle your head way up high
Grab your daddy and make him cry
Doin that Rag, that rag
That Georgia Rag.
I’m wild about that Georgia Rag
I mean that Georgie Rag, Georgie Rag
Why don’t you buzz around like a bee
Shake it like a ship on the sea
That wild Rag, that crazy Rag
Better known as the Georgia Rag
Spoken: Ah pull it now.
[instrumental]
Sung: Ah you shake it like a ship on the sea
And buzz around like a bee.
Ah, that wild Rag, that crazy Rag
Better known as the Georgia Rag
People come from miles around
Come to darktown to break it down
Doin' that rag, that Georgia Rag
Out in darktown night and day
Trying to dance them Blues away
[Spoken] Alright now boy, sang ‘em?
[instrumental]
That wild Rag, that crazy Rag
Better known as that Georgia Rag
Ah, I went back to Newport News
Singin these doggone Atlanta Blues
Doin that Rag, that Georgia Rag
[Spoken] – Alright now, play ‘em.
[instrumental]
[Sung] Why don’t you buzz around like a bee
Shake it like a ship on the sea
That wild Rag, that crazy Rag
Better known as the Georgia Rag
-snip-
Transcription by Azizi Powell. Additions and corrections are welcome.
Explanations for certain words & phrases.
"Mama" = a female who is man's lover
"Daddy = a man who is a female's lover
"break 'em down" (break them down) = dance really good
I think that the word "them" in "break 'em down" refers to the dance moves.
When you break something down, you take something apart in order to know how it works. As a result of that action, you should understand it better than before. I think that in the same way, if you break down a dance, you know how to do it better than ever.
I think that the word "them" in "break 'em down" refers to the dance moves.
"that wild Rag, that crazy Rag" = uptempo music that people dance to frenetically, or at least in ways that are the opposite of sedate.
"Shake it like a ship on the sea" = "it" refers to your butt and/or your hips
"Rustle your head way up high = "shake your head while you hold it up high (don't look down)
"Newport News" = a city located in the state of Virginia
"Darktown" - a referent for a section of Chicago where Black people lived. In my opinion, in the context of the Jazz song "Darktown Strutters' Ball", the word "darktown" isn't racist, but a similar word "darkie" is. That said, some use of the word "darktown" is racist.
Nowadays it would be socially unacceptable to refer to any section of a town as "darktown", not to mention that it's illegal to prohibit people from living where they want to because of their race, ethnicity, religion etc. That said, for various reasons including economic and choice, most major cities in the United States still have neighborhoods in which all or the majority of the residents are Black.
The use of "darktown" almost certainly came from the hit 1917 Jazz song "Darktown Strutters' Ball", which was written by Black composer Shelton Brooks. A post about that song will be published ASAP. Read additional comments about that word in this pancocojams post on Darktown Strutters' Ball" http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/10/what-words-darktown-and-strutters.html
****
ADDENDUM: INFORMATION ABOUT "RAGS" (RAGTIME MUSIC)
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ragtime
"Ragtime (alternatively spelled rag-time or rag time)[1] is a musical genre that enjoyed its peak popularity between 1895 and 1918.[2] Its main characteristic trait is its syncopated, or "ragged," rhythm...
Ragtime originated in African American music in the late 19th century, descending from the jigs and march music played by African American bands.[13] By the start of the 20th century, it became widely popular throughout North America and was listened and danced to, performed, and written by people of many different subcultures. A distinctly American musical style, ragtime may be considered a synthesis of African syncopation and European classical music, especially the marches made popular by John Philip Sousa.
Some early piano rags are entitled marches, and "jig" and "rag" were used interchangeably in the mid-1890s.[13] Ragtime was also preceded by its close relative the cakewalk. In 1895, black entertainer Ernest Hogan published two of the earliest sheet music rags...
The emergence of mature ragtime is usually dated to 1897, the year in which several important early rags were published. In 1899, Scott Joplin's "Maple Leaf Rag" was published and became a great hit and demonstrated more depth and sophistication than earlier ragtime. Ragtime was one of the main influences on the early development of jazz (along with the blues). Some artists, such as Jelly Roll Morton, were present and performed both ragtime and jazz styles during the period the two genres overlapped. He also incorporated the Spanish Tinge in his performances, which gave a habanera or tango rhythm to his music.[17] Jazz largely surpassed ragtime in mainstream popularity in the early 1920s, although ragtime compositions continue to be written up to the present, and periodic revivals of popular interest in ragtime occurred in the 1950s and the 1970s."
-snip-
Note that Blind Blake's "The Wabash Rag" (and Blind Willie McTell's "Georgia Rag" which copied that song) focus on the dance that is done to the Rag music, and not the music itself.
Blind Willie McTell's song describes the type of dancing that was done to his song more than Blind Blake does.
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Blind Blake - The Wabash Rag (sound file & lyrics)
Edited by Azizi Powell
This post showcases a sound file of Blind Blake (Arthur Blake)'s 1927 recording "The Wabash Rag". My transcription of the lyrics to this song are also included in this post along with my comments about the meaning of some of those lyrics.
The Addendum to this post provides some information about Rags [music].
The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Blind Blake for his musical legacy. Thanks also to the publisher of this video:
RELATED LINK
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/10/blind-willie-mctell-georgia-rag-sound.html for a pancocojams post on the Blind Willie McTell's record "Georgia Rag". Blind Blake's "Wabash Rag" served as the prototype for "Georgia Rag".
****
SHOWCASE SOUND FILE: Wabash Rag (Blind Blake, November 1927) [Remastered]
RagtimeDorianHenry, Uploaded on May 14, 2009
* Wabash Rag
* Blind Arthur Blake (Guitar / Vocal)
* November 1927
-snip-
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_Blake
"Arthur "Blind" Blake (1896 – December 1, 1934) was an American blues and ragtime singer and guitarist. He is known for his series of recordings for Paramount Records between 1926 and 1932 and the mystery surrounding his life."...
-snip-
This isn't the same artist as the Calypso performer Blake Alphonso Higgs who was also known as "Blind Blake".
****
LYRICS: THE WABASH RAG
(Arthur Blake,aka "Blind Blake")
Instrumental
Down south on Wabash Street
Everybody you chance to meet
Doin' that Rag, that Wabash Rag.
They're doin' it night and day.
See if it will drive your Blues away.
Doin' that Rag, that Wabash Rag.
Every little kid that you meet
In the alley in the street
Doin' that Rag, that Wabash Rag
Stand up stand up stand up
Stand up standup stand up
Stand up stand up stand up
Stand up standup stand up
Doin' that Rag, that Wabash Rag
[instrumental]
Grab me, mama. Hold me tight.
Let's mess around the rest of the night
Doin' that Rag, that Wabash Rag
Throw your hands way up high
Grab me mama. Make me cry.
Doin that Rag, That Wabash Rag
Stand up, stand up stand up
Stand up, stand up stand up
Stand up, stand up stand up
Stand up.
Stand up, stand up stand up
Stand up, stand up stand up
Doin that Rag, that Washbash Rag
People come from miles around
Get on Wabash, break ‘em down
Doin' that Rag, that Wabash Rag
Anybody stand up.
Last time for standing.
[instrumental]
Doin that Rag, that Wabash Rag.
-snip-
Transcription by Azizi Powell. Additions and corrections are welcome.
-snip-
Explanations of certain words or phrases:
"mama" = female who is man's lover
"stand up" = get up (stand up) and dance
Last time for standing = Last chance to dance
"break 'em down (break them down) = dance really good
I think that the word "them" in "break 'em down" refers to the dance moves.
When you break something down, you take something apart in order to know how it works. As a result of that action, you should understand it better than before. I think that in the same way, if you break down a dance, you know how to do it better than ever.
-snip-
In the United State it's socially incorrect now for performers' stage namee to refer to a physical condition, except perhaps for height (for instance Hip Hop artists whose stage names include the word "Lil" (Little).
****
ADDENDUM: INFORMATION ABOUT "RAGS" (RAGTIME MUSIC)
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ragtime
"Ragtime (alternatively spelled rag-time or rag time)[1] is a musical genre that enjoyed its peak popularity between 1895 and 1918.[2] Its main characteristic trait is its syncopated, or "ragged," rhythm...
Ragtime originated in African American music in the late 19th century, descending from the jigs and march music played by African American bands.[13] By the start of the 20th century, it became widely popular throughout North America and was listened and danced to, performed, and written by people of many different subcultures. A distinctly American musical style, ragtime may be considered a synthesis of African syncopation and European classical music, especially the marches made popular by John Philip Sousa.
Some early piano rags are entitled marches, and "jig" and "rag" were used interchangeably in the mid-1890s.[13] Ragtime was also preceded by its close relative the cakewalk. In 1895, black entertainer Ernest Hogan published two of the earliest sheet music rags...
The emergence of mature ragtime is usually dated to 1897, the year in which several important early rags were published. In 1899, Scott Joplin's "Maple Leaf Rag" was published and became a great hit and demonstrated more depth and sophistication than earlier ragtime. Ragtime was one of the main influences on the early development of jazz (along with the blues). Some artists, such as Jelly Roll Morton, were present and performed both ragtime and jazz styles during the period the two genres overlapped. He also incorporated the Spanish Tinge in his performances, which gave a habanera or tango rhythm to his music.[17] Jazz largely surpassed ragtime in mainstream popularity in the early 1920s, although ragtime compositions continue to be written up to the present, and periodic revivals of popular interest in ragtime occurred in the 1950s and the 1970s."
-snip-
Note that Blind Blake's "The Wabash Rag" (and Blind Willie McTell's "Georgia Rag" which copied that song) focus on the dance that is done to the Rag music, and not the music itself.
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
This post showcases a sound file of Blind Blake (Arthur Blake)'s 1927 recording "The Wabash Rag". My transcription of the lyrics to this song are also included in this post along with my comments about the meaning of some of those lyrics.
The Addendum to this post provides some information about Rags [music].
The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Blind Blake for his musical legacy. Thanks also to the publisher of this video:
RELATED LINK
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/10/blind-willie-mctell-georgia-rag-sound.html for a pancocojams post on the Blind Willie McTell's record "Georgia Rag". Blind Blake's "Wabash Rag" served as the prototype for "Georgia Rag".
****
SHOWCASE SOUND FILE: Wabash Rag (Blind Blake, November 1927) [Remastered]
RagtimeDorianHenry, Uploaded on May 14, 2009
* Wabash Rag
* Blind Arthur Blake (Guitar / Vocal)
* November 1927
-snip-
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_Blake
"Arthur "Blind" Blake (1896 – December 1, 1934) was an American blues and ragtime singer and guitarist. He is known for his series of recordings for Paramount Records between 1926 and 1932 and the mystery surrounding his life."...
-snip-
This isn't the same artist as the Calypso performer Blake Alphonso Higgs who was also known as "Blind Blake".
****
LYRICS: THE WABASH RAG
(Arthur Blake,aka "Blind Blake")
Instrumental
Down south on Wabash Street
Everybody you chance to meet
Doin' that Rag, that Wabash Rag.
They're doin' it night and day.
See if it will drive your Blues away.
Doin' that Rag, that Wabash Rag.
Every little kid that you meet
In the alley in the street
Doin' that Rag, that Wabash Rag
Stand up stand up stand up
Stand up standup stand up
Stand up stand up stand up
Stand up standup stand up
Doin' that Rag, that Wabash Rag
[instrumental]
Grab me, mama. Hold me tight.
Let's mess around the rest of the night
Doin' that Rag, that Wabash Rag
Throw your hands way up high
Grab me mama. Make me cry.
Doin that Rag, That Wabash Rag
Stand up, stand up stand up
Stand up, stand up stand up
Stand up, stand up stand up
Stand up.
Stand up, stand up stand up
Stand up, stand up stand up
Doin that Rag, that Washbash Rag
People come from miles around
Get on Wabash, break ‘em down
Doin' that Rag, that Wabash Rag
Anybody stand up.
Last time for standing.
[instrumental]
Doin that Rag, that Wabash Rag.
-snip-
Transcription by Azizi Powell. Additions and corrections are welcome.
-snip-
Explanations of certain words or phrases:
"mama" = female who is man's lover
"stand up" = get up (stand up) and dance
Last time for standing = Last chance to dance
"break 'em down (break them down) = dance really good
I think that the word "them" in "break 'em down" refers to the dance moves.
When you break something down, you take something apart in order to know how it works. As a result of that action, you should understand it better than before. I think that in the same way, if you break down a dance, you know how to do it better than ever.
-snip-
In the United State it's socially incorrect now for performers' stage namee to refer to a physical condition, except perhaps for height (for instance Hip Hop artists whose stage names include the word "Lil" (Little).
****
ADDENDUM: INFORMATION ABOUT "RAGS" (RAGTIME MUSIC)
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ragtime
"Ragtime (alternatively spelled rag-time or rag time)[1] is a musical genre that enjoyed its peak popularity between 1895 and 1918.[2] Its main characteristic trait is its syncopated, or "ragged," rhythm...
Ragtime originated in African American music in the late 19th century, descending from the jigs and march music played by African American bands.[13] By the start of the 20th century, it became widely popular throughout North America and was listened and danced to, performed, and written by people of many different subcultures. A distinctly American musical style, ragtime may be considered a synthesis of African syncopation and European classical music, especially the marches made popular by John Philip Sousa.
Some early piano rags are entitled marches, and "jig" and "rag" were used interchangeably in the mid-1890s.[13] Ragtime was also preceded by its close relative the cakewalk. In 1895, black entertainer Ernest Hogan published two of the earliest sheet music rags...
The emergence of mature ragtime is usually dated to 1897, the year in which several important early rags were published. In 1899, Scott Joplin's "Maple Leaf Rag" was published and became a great hit and demonstrated more depth and sophistication than earlier ragtime. Ragtime was one of the main influences on the early development of jazz (along with the blues). Some artists, such as Jelly Roll Morton, were present and performed both ragtime and jazz styles during the period the two genres overlapped. He also incorporated the Spanish Tinge in his performances, which gave a habanera or tango rhythm to his music.[17] Jazz largely surpassed ragtime in mainstream popularity in the early 1920s, although ragtime compositions continue to be written up to the present, and periodic revivals of popular interest in ragtime occurred in the 1950s and the 1970s."
-snip-
Note that Blind Blake's "The Wabash Rag" (and Blind Willie McTell's "Georgia Rag" which copied that song) focus on the dance that is done to the Rag music, and not the music itself.
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
What Is Acute Ebola Panic (AEP) And How It's Infecting The USA
Edited by Azizi Powell
WARNING! A number of people throughout the United States are exhibiting symptons of Acute Ebola Panic (AEP).
SYMPTONS OF ACUTE EBOLA PANIC
Here are the two main symptons of Acute Ebola Panic [AEP]
*Thinking that anyone from any African nation has Ebola
*Thinking that anyone who has visited any African nation has Ebola
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN PEOPLE HAVE ACUTE EBOLA PANIC
People With Acute Ebola Panic (AEP)
*Keep their children out of school if there are Black African children who attend that school
*Demand that school officials and other people who have traveled to Africa be quarantined for certain periods of time.
*Demand that school officials and other people who have traveled to United States cities that have Ebola patients be quarantined for certain periods of time.
*Demand that anyone from West Africa be banned from traveling to the USA
*Cancel trips to any nation in Africa no matter how far away it is from the three African nations [Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea] that have diagnosed cases of Ebola.
*Are fearful of and mistreat Black Africans in myraid ways because they think that those people may have Ebola or may have been around someone who has had Ebola.
[Note that there are White people and Asian people and other non-Black people who live in African nations. But, since those people don’t "look like" what Americans think of as African, they are likely not to be targeted by people who have AEP.]
RECOMMENDED TREATMENT PEOPLE HAVE ACUTE EBOLA PANIC
*Stop listening to fearmongers and instead pay attention to what health experts are saying about Ebola.
"Stay educated. Instead of letting the attention Ebola is getting create fear and panic, arm yourself with the facts. The CDC offers great, easy to understand information, especially on their Questions and Answers to Ebola page http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/outbreaks/2014-west-africa/qa.html
Note: that quote is from http://700childrens.nationwidechildrens.org/5-ebola-facts-want-know/ "Ebola Facts We Want You To Know" Author: Dennis Cunningham, MD, October 15, 2014
*Stop using Ebola for political purposes.
*Stop being ignorant about basic world geography.
Get a map of Africa and study it for more than a minute.
Realize that Africa is a really BIG continent and not one country.
*Stop being racist and xenophobic.
*Support organizations that are treating Ebola such as Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières)
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/our-work/medical-issues/ebola
*Read articles such as the ones that have been previously cited and the ones listed below, thereby curing yourself from AEP before it spreads even farther and infects the entire world.
OTHER SUGGESTED READING
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2014/10/21/3582113/africa-geography-ebola/ "5 Schools Freaking Out About Ebola Because They Don’t Realize Africa Is A Really Big Continent"
by Joaquim Moreira Salles and Tara Culp-Ressler (October 21, 2014)
https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2014/10/21/cant-ebola-become-latest-racist-national-security-issue/
"Ebola Fears Turn Into an Epidemic of Racism and Hysteria"
By Andrew Jerell Jones, October 21, 2014
http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/10/i-am-liberian-not-virus-video-hashtag.html "I Am A Liberian, Not A Virus" Video, Hashtag, & Comments
****
Note: Acute Ebola Panic (AEP) is a term that I coined today. Please spread this term around as a means of combating this ignorance.
****
ADDENDUM: HOW MANY COUNTRIES ARE IN AFRICA?
From http://www.infoplease.com/askeds/countries-africa.html
"The Question:
How many countries are in Africa?
The Answer:
There are 47 countries on the African continent, including the disputed territory of Western Sahara. However, the islands off the coast are also usually listed as African, bringing the total to 53. The island nations are Cape Verde, São Tomé and Príncipe, Madagascar, the Comoros, the Seychelles, and Mauritius. Each is an independent nation.
Some sources do not count all of the island countries as African, so the total number fluctuates. It is important to remember that even though they may have diverse populations and cultural traditions, all of the island nations listed above have substantial African populations and strong historical connections to Africa, so they are usually considered "African." "
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
WARNING! A number of people throughout the United States are exhibiting symptons of Acute Ebola Panic (AEP).
SYMPTONS OF ACUTE EBOLA PANIC
Here are the two main symptons of Acute Ebola Panic [AEP]
*Thinking that anyone from any African nation has Ebola
*Thinking that anyone who has visited any African nation has Ebola
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN PEOPLE HAVE ACUTE EBOLA PANIC
People With Acute Ebola Panic (AEP)
*Keep their children out of school if there are Black African children who attend that school
*Demand that school officials and other people who have traveled to Africa be quarantined for certain periods of time.
*Demand that school officials and other people who have traveled to United States cities that have Ebola patients be quarantined for certain periods of time.
*Demand that anyone from West Africa be banned from traveling to the USA
*Cancel trips to any nation in Africa no matter how far away it is from the three African nations [Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea] that have diagnosed cases of Ebola.
*Are fearful of and mistreat Black Africans in myraid ways because they think that those people may have Ebola or may have been around someone who has had Ebola.
[Note that there are White people and Asian people and other non-Black people who live in African nations. But, since those people don’t "look like" what Americans think of as African, they are likely not to be targeted by people who have AEP.]
RECOMMENDED TREATMENT PEOPLE HAVE ACUTE EBOLA PANIC
*Stop listening to fearmongers and instead pay attention to what health experts are saying about Ebola.
"Stay educated. Instead of letting the attention Ebola is getting create fear and panic, arm yourself with the facts. The CDC offers great, easy to understand information, especially on their Questions and Answers to Ebola page http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/outbreaks/2014-west-africa/qa.html
Note: that quote is from http://700childrens.nationwidechildrens.org/5-ebola-facts-want-know/ "Ebola Facts We Want You To Know" Author: Dennis Cunningham, MD, October 15, 2014
*Stop using Ebola for political purposes.
*Stop being ignorant about basic world geography.
Get a map of Africa and study it for more than a minute.
Realize that Africa is a really BIG continent and not one country.
*Stop being racist and xenophobic.
*Support organizations that are treating Ebola such as Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières)
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/our-work/medical-issues/ebola
*Read articles such as the ones that have been previously cited and the ones listed below, thereby curing yourself from AEP before it spreads even farther and infects the entire world.
OTHER SUGGESTED READING
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2014/10/21/3582113/africa-geography-ebola/ "5 Schools Freaking Out About Ebola Because They Don’t Realize Africa Is A Really Big Continent"
by Joaquim Moreira Salles and Tara Culp-Ressler (October 21, 2014)
https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2014/10/21/cant-ebola-become-latest-racist-national-security-issue/
"Ebola Fears Turn Into an Epidemic of Racism and Hysteria"
By Andrew Jerell Jones, October 21, 2014
http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/10/i-am-liberian-not-virus-video-hashtag.html "I Am A Liberian, Not A Virus" Video, Hashtag, & Comments
****
Note: Acute Ebola Panic (AEP) is a term that I coined today. Please spread this term around as a means of combating this ignorance.
****
ADDENDUM: HOW MANY COUNTRIES ARE IN AFRICA?
From http://www.infoplease.com/askeds/countries-africa.html
"The Question:
How many countries are in Africa?
The Answer:
There are 47 countries on the African continent, including the disputed territory of Western Sahara. However, the islands off the coast are also usually listed as African, bringing the total to 53. The island nations are Cape Verde, São Tomé and Príncipe, Madagascar, the Comoros, the Seychelles, and Mauritius. Each is an independent nation.
Some sources do not count all of the island countries as African, so the total number fluctuates. It is important to remember that even though they may have diverse populations and cultural traditions, all of the island nations listed above have substantial African populations and strong historical connections to Africa, so they are usually considered "African." "
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Derrick Morgan - "John Crow Skank" (example, lyrics, comments)
Edited by Azizi Powell
This post showcases a sound file of Derrick Morgan's 2001 Ska (or early Reggae?) tune "John Crow Skank". A bonus sound file of Lee "Scratch" Perry's instrumental record "John Crow Skank" is also included in this post.
This post also includes my speculations about the use of the name "John Crow" for these and other records.
Information about skanking and a video that documents an early form of skanking is presented in the Addendum to this post.
The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Derrick Morgan, and to Lee "Scratch" Perry for their musical legacy. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to all the publishers of videos that are included in this post.
RELATED LINK
http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/09/john-crow-part-i-what-john-crow-means.html "What "John Crow" Means In Jamaica"
****
SHOWCASE SOUND FILE: Derrick Morgan - John Crow Skank - Pama Reggae
Mrrkdino, Published on Oct 8, 2012
Boss tune from Derrick Morgan.
-snip-
This is from the album "Straighten Up - Vol.2."
****
LYRICS: JOHN CROW SKANK
(Derrick Morgan)
Wacka wacka
Wacka wacka
Wacka wacka
Wacka wacka
Hey eh eh hey, little girl,
Little one girl
All dressed in blue.
You standin in the corner
Like you don’t know what to do.
Do you see that man
In his barefoot pants?
Just take him by his hand and say
Come let’s dance
The John Crow Skank.
Baby, will you do that?
Hun.
The John Crow Skank
Baby, will you do that?
Wacka wacka
Wacka wacka wacka
Lift the right foot out
And you jump to the back.
Shake your shoulders,
Get right on the beat.
That’s the John Crow Skank.
Baby, will you do that?
Hey!
Lift your arms,
And you rock your body line.
Jump to the back, baby, baby
Shake it in the line,
The John Crow Skank.
Baby, will you do that?
Hun.
Little one mama,
Dressed in your hot pants
You’re standing there
Why don’t you jump and prance?
You see that man
In his barefoot pants?
Just take him by his hands and say
Come let’s dance
The John Crow Skank.
Baby, you are doin it fine.
Hun!
The John Crow Skank
Baby you are doin it fine
Hey!
Wacka wacka
wacka wacka wacka
Wacka wacka
Hey!
-snip-
"Wacka wacka")
-snip-
This transcription is by Azizi Powell. Additions and corrections are welcome.
I think that "Wacka wacka" (or similarly spelled words) is meant to be imitative of the sound a vulture (John Crow) makes.
****
BONUS SOUND FILE: Lee Perry - Kotch Up Dub & John Crow Skank
RootsReggaeDubAmsterdam, Uploaded on Mar 13, 2010
From The Album: Skanking With The Upsetter
-snip-
"John Crow Skank" begins at 4:40 of this video.
****
ADDENDUM: INFORMATION ABOUT SKANKING [DANCE]
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skank_(dance)
"Skanking is a form of dancing practiced in the ska, ska punk, hardcore punk, reggae, jump-up (a drum and bass sub-genre) and other music scenes.
The dance style originated in the 1950s or 1960s at Jamaican dance halls, where ska music was played.[1] British mods and skinheads of the 1960s adopted these types of dances and altered them. The dancing style was revived during the 1970s and 1980s 2 Tone era, and has been adopted by some individuals in the hardcore punk subculture.
Originally, skanking consisted of a “running man” motion of the legs to the beat while alternating bent-elbow fist-punches, left and right.[1] Over time, however, variations have emerged across the musical world. The punk version features a sharp striking out look with the arms, and is sometimes used in moshing to knock around others doing the same."...
****
Skanking, Lesson By Tony Verity
Jyo Ska Uploaded on Jul 7, 2008
Ska Documental in 'Sombrero Club' With Byron Lee & The Dragonaires. Jamaica 1964
-snip-
Here's a comment about skanking from that video's viewer comment thread:
hultonclint, Feb 17, 2009
"This kind of dancing was sort of manufactured. Prince Buster himself said there was no distinct "ska dance" like this. Basically, this was to fit it "ska" as one of the "dance crazes" (think Cha cha cha, rhumba, the Twist, etc) that consumer (upper class) audience would do at the time. One way the music industry sold records was by popularizing dances that went w/ certain music. In 1964, there was an attempt to popularize ska in the US as the latest craze which is why they made up these moves."
****
SPECULATIONS ABOUT WHY THE NAME "JOHN CROW" WAS USED FOR THIS DANCE
I'm assuming that "John Crow Skank" was (is) just one of a number of different ways of "skanking".
Derrick Morgan's "John Crow Skank" fits the description of an of instructional dance song in that part of its lyrics give instructions as to how to do that dance. But I'm curious as to why the name "John Crow" would be used for a type of dance.
This article http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20090517/arts/arts1.html Extracts from the 'Jamaica Journal' - "Plants, Spirits and the meaning of 'John' in Jamaica" by John Rashford (May 17, 2009) suggests that [the plant that Jamaicans call] "John Crow Bead, and it links - by virtue of John as a generic term - to the Christmas dancing in Jamaica called John Canoe (also spelled Jonkonnu) and to the vulture called John Crow (Cathartes aura)... all have the name John because of their relationship to the world of spirits and spirit possession."
That article also indicates that "John Canoe, who is the chief dancer of a troupe of dancers, is the spirit person or obeahman (variously described as a witch doctor, magician, jumbie-man or sorcerer) and both the John Crow and the John Crow Bead are associated with death and with materials used in the practice of obeah."
-snip-
I don't think that the John Crow Skank was meant to be religious or refer to death or the spirit world. Yet, if the concept of John Crow was connected to the Jonkanoo dancers, did that connection inluence the choice of the name "John Crow" for this skank dance. Or could the choice of that dance name be as uncomplicated as the possibility that the John Crow (Jamaican vulture) might be known for its dance like movements? Having never seen a John Crow, I don't know if its movements could be equated to a dance or not.
It should also be noted that Jamaicans also refer to a type of rhythm as "John Crow Skank rhythm".
http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20090719/ent/ent8.html "STORY OF THE SONG - One line makes a 'Bangarang'"
Editor's Note: This article is about the 1968 record "Bangarang" by Lester Sterling & Stanger Cole]
..."John Crow Skank
Among the musicians with whom [music producer Bunny 'Striker'] Lee worked at the time were Lloyd Chalmers, Aston and Carlton Barrett and Robbie Shakespeare. Cole definitely remembers keyboard player Glen Adams playing on Bangarang, introducing what was called the 'John Crow Skank' style into Jamaican music in the process"...
Another example of this rhythm is http://www.allmusic.com/song/john-crow-skank-rhythm-preacher-man-uk395-mt0012977802 John Crow Skank Rhythm: Preacher Man (UK395)
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
This post showcases a sound file of Derrick Morgan's 2001 Ska (or early Reggae?) tune "John Crow Skank". A bonus sound file of Lee "Scratch" Perry's instrumental record "John Crow Skank" is also included in this post.
This post also includes my speculations about the use of the name "John Crow" for these and other records.
Information about skanking and a video that documents an early form of skanking is presented in the Addendum to this post.
The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Derrick Morgan, and to Lee "Scratch" Perry for their musical legacy. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to all the publishers of videos that are included in this post.
RELATED LINK
http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/09/john-crow-part-i-what-john-crow-means.html "What "John Crow" Means In Jamaica"
****
SHOWCASE SOUND FILE: Derrick Morgan - John Crow Skank - Pama Reggae
Mrrkdino, Published on Oct 8, 2012
Boss tune from Derrick Morgan.
-snip-
This is from the album "Straighten Up - Vol.2."
****
LYRICS: JOHN CROW SKANK
(Derrick Morgan)
Wacka wacka
Wacka wacka
Wacka wacka
Wacka wacka
Hey eh eh hey, little girl,
Little one girl
All dressed in blue.
You standin in the corner
Like you don’t know what to do.
Do you see that man
In his barefoot pants?
Just take him by his hand and say
Come let’s dance
The John Crow Skank.
Baby, will you do that?
Hun.
The John Crow Skank
Baby, will you do that?
Wacka wacka
Wacka wacka wacka
Lift the right foot out
And you jump to the back.
Shake your shoulders,
Get right on the beat.
That’s the John Crow Skank.
Baby, will you do that?
Hey!
Lift your arms,
And you rock your body line.
Jump to the back, baby, baby
Shake it in the line,
The John Crow Skank.
Baby, will you do that?
Hun.
Little one mama,
Dressed in your hot pants
You’re standing there
Why don’t you jump and prance?
You see that man
In his barefoot pants?
Just take him by his hands and say
Come let’s dance
The John Crow Skank.
Baby, you are doin it fine.
Hun!
The John Crow Skank
Baby you are doin it fine
Hey!
Wacka wacka
wacka wacka wacka
Wacka wacka
Hey!
-snip-
"Wacka wacka")
-snip-
This transcription is by Azizi Powell. Additions and corrections are welcome.
I think that "Wacka wacka" (or similarly spelled words) is meant to be imitative of the sound a vulture (John Crow) makes.
****
BONUS SOUND FILE: Lee Perry - Kotch Up Dub & John Crow Skank
RootsReggaeDubAmsterdam, Uploaded on Mar 13, 2010
From The Album: Skanking With The Upsetter
-snip-
"John Crow Skank" begins at 4:40 of this video.
****
ADDENDUM: INFORMATION ABOUT SKANKING [DANCE]
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skank_(dance)
"Skanking is a form of dancing practiced in the ska, ska punk, hardcore punk, reggae, jump-up (a drum and bass sub-genre) and other music scenes.
The dance style originated in the 1950s or 1960s at Jamaican dance halls, where ska music was played.[1] British mods and skinheads of the 1960s adopted these types of dances and altered them. The dancing style was revived during the 1970s and 1980s 2 Tone era, and has been adopted by some individuals in the hardcore punk subculture.
Originally, skanking consisted of a “running man” motion of the legs to the beat while alternating bent-elbow fist-punches, left and right.[1] Over time, however, variations have emerged across the musical world. The punk version features a sharp striking out look with the arms, and is sometimes used in moshing to knock around others doing the same."...
****
Skanking, Lesson By Tony Verity
Jyo Ska Uploaded on Jul 7, 2008
Ska Documental in 'Sombrero Club' With Byron Lee & The Dragonaires. Jamaica 1964
-snip-
Here's a comment about skanking from that video's viewer comment thread:
hultonclint, Feb 17, 2009
"This kind of dancing was sort of manufactured. Prince Buster himself said there was no distinct "ska dance" like this. Basically, this was to fit it "ska" as one of the "dance crazes" (think Cha cha cha, rhumba, the Twist, etc) that consumer (upper class) audience would do at the time. One way the music industry sold records was by popularizing dances that went w/ certain music. In 1964, there was an attempt to popularize ska in the US as the latest craze which is why they made up these moves."
****
SPECULATIONS ABOUT WHY THE NAME "JOHN CROW" WAS USED FOR THIS DANCE
I'm assuming that "John Crow Skank" was (is) just one of a number of different ways of "skanking".
Derrick Morgan's "John Crow Skank" fits the description of an of instructional dance song in that part of its lyrics give instructions as to how to do that dance. But I'm curious as to why the name "John Crow" would be used for a type of dance.
This article http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20090517/arts/arts1.html Extracts from the 'Jamaica Journal' - "Plants, Spirits and the meaning of 'John' in Jamaica" by John Rashford (May 17, 2009) suggests that [the plant that Jamaicans call] "John Crow Bead, and it links - by virtue of John as a generic term - to the Christmas dancing in Jamaica called John Canoe (also spelled Jonkonnu) and to the vulture called John Crow (Cathartes aura)... all have the name John because of their relationship to the world of spirits and spirit possession."
That article also indicates that "John Canoe, who is the chief dancer of a troupe of dancers, is the spirit person or obeahman (variously described as a witch doctor, magician, jumbie-man or sorcerer) and both the John Crow and the John Crow Bead are associated with death and with materials used in the practice of obeah."
-snip-
I don't think that the John Crow Skank was meant to be religious or refer to death or the spirit world. Yet, if the concept of John Crow was connected to the Jonkanoo dancers, did that connection inluence the choice of the name "John Crow" for this skank dance. Or could the choice of that dance name be as uncomplicated as the possibility that the John Crow (Jamaican vulture) might be known for its dance like movements? Having never seen a John Crow, I don't know if its movements could be equated to a dance or not.
It should also be noted that Jamaicans also refer to a type of rhythm as "John Crow Skank rhythm".
http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20090719/ent/ent8.html "STORY OF THE SONG - One line makes a 'Bangarang'"
Editor's Note: This article is about the 1968 record "Bangarang" by Lester Sterling & Stanger Cole]
..."John Crow Skank
Among the musicians with whom [music producer Bunny 'Striker'] Lee worked at the time were Lloyd Chalmers, Aston and Carlton Barrett and Robbie Shakespeare. Cole definitely remembers keyboard player Glen Adams playing on Bangarang, introducing what was called the 'John Crow Skank' style into Jamaican music in the process"...
Another example of this rhythm is http://www.allmusic.com/song/john-crow-skank-rhythm-preacher-man-uk395-mt0012977802 John Crow Skank Rhythm: Preacher Man (UK395)
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Monday, October 20, 2014
Three Reggae Records With The Title "Bangarang" (with comments)
Edited by Azizi Powell
Latest revision- July 2, 2024
This post showcases three Reggae records with the title "Bangarang": (1)Lester Sterling & Stranger Cole -"Bangarang"; (2)Freddie McGregor - "Bangarang", and (3) U Roy & Glen Adams - "Bangarang Version".
Selected comments from the discussion thread for the featured Freddy McGregor recording of "Bangarang" are also included in this post. Those comments include the word "bangarang" and often provide a definition for that term (the Caribbean (Jamaican) definition.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/10/bangarang-means-different-things-in.html for a companion post that focuses on the different meanings of the word "bangarang" in Jamaica and in the United States.
The content of this post is presented for etymology, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to these featured vocalists for their musical legacy. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of that video on YouTube.
****
SHOWCASE EXAMPLES
Example #1: Bangarang - Lester Sterling & Stranger Cole
.
jahbuzzz Uploaded on Dec 10, 2010
Bangarang on Original JA Lee [1968]
In late 1968, Lester cut his signature tune "Bangarang." Another Jamaican #1, and hailed as a first Reggae, Ill let Lester tell it. "Well the first part and the inspiration for Bangarang, I make up the bridge, came from Kenny Graham's* Bongo Chant. Me and Rico used to play it from the late 50s when it was on the sound systems. I get the idea from this woman and her daughter. The daughter emigrate to America and then I think she encourage the mother to leave me and emigrate too."
Backup vocals are by Wilburn "Stranger" Cole, Lloyd "Charmers" Tyrell, and Maxwell "Romeo" Smith. There are hundreds, if not thousands of versions of Bangarang, including those by Soul Vendors, Lord Creator, Nitty Gritty, Brigadier Jerry, Lt. Stitchie, and Dillinger.
At the start of Stir It Up! A tv program broadcast by Englands Channel 4 in 1994, producer Bunny Lee is in his Burns Avenue studio in Kingston. Lee picks up a 1/4 inch tape and begins, "Yeah, I want to tell everybody, the whole world, this is the first Reggae tune that was done in Jamaica, see it? It was done in 1968 in Duke Reids studio. I want to play it and mek the whole world hear, Muma no want no Bangarang. It was Lester Sterling, Lloyd Charmers and Stranger Coleis really the emphasis on the organ. Mek the organ go Reggae, Reggae this is the great Bangarang." In the 1982 video production Deeper Roots, also by Channel 4, Lee notes, "same like in the Reggae ting, is a man just bawl out one day, we were having a session, say, make the organ go Reggae, Reggae and the name. Everybody claims the name and they dont even know how it start, right."
In late 1968, Lester [Sterling] cut his signature tune "Bangarang." Another Jamaican #1, and hailed as a first Reggae, Ill let Lester tell it. "Well the first part and the inspiration for Bangarang, I make up the bridge, came from Kenny Dorhams Bongo Chant. Me and Rico used to play it from the late 50s when it was on the sound systems. I get the idea from this woman and her daughter. The daughter emigrate to America and then I think she encourage the mother to leave me and emigrate too."
-snip-
*This corrects the wrong last name that was given in this video's summary. Thanks, Unknown July 2, 2024 for pointing out that error.
****
Example #2: Freddie McGregor - Bangarang
Jens MerleUploaded on Jan 3, 2007
one Artist of the old School Jamicas.
-snip-
I'm not sure when this record was first released.
Here are selected comments from this sound file's discussion thread: [Notice that bangarang is something that nobody wants.]
eego1, 2008
"Respect to Freddie McGregor for this beautiful rendition of Stranger Cole's "Bangarang""
**
EarthV8Jan 26, 2009
"JAMAICA NUH WAN NUH BANGARANG"
-snip-
This is a recurring line in this Freddy McGregor record. The original "Bangarang" record by Lester Sterling and Stranger Cole said "Muma nuh wan nuh bangarang". [Momma don't want no bangarang.]
**
francisco RebeloNeves, 2008
"Michaeljureidini.. you fool.. Do you know what bangarang means? Bangarang > Jamaican slang defined as a hubbub, uproar, disorder, or disturbance. Jah Bless Freddie McGregor"
**
1OLDSKOOL1Feb 3, 2009 in reply to michaeljureidini
"he is saying there is gonna be bangarang but he doesnt want it. bangarang mean disorder and mayhem. he is not endorsing it hes just stating fact. You should've understood what was meant before making such ridiculous comments!!"
-snip-
michaeljureidini's comment is no longer available. I wonder if that blogger wrote something that used the American definitions of "bangarang". According to the American definitions, bangarang is an exclamation indicating approval and/or amazement; and an adjective that means something superlative, "The ultimate in excellence. Better than cool, rad or awesome" [to paraphrase two urbandictionary.com bloggers.] Those meanings were given to that Caribbean word at least by 1991 when the word "bangarang" was used in the American movie "Hook".
At any rate, it doesn't appear that anyone else writing in that discussion thread, with the exception of one other person (whose comment is given below) was aware of this alternate meaning of "bangarang".
**
arshedhussainkadir, Nov 7, 2009 in reply to 1OLDSKOOL1
"1OLDSCOOL.....bangarah..also means asian music ...since 1988 arab, indian tunes got serious rythem ...while reegae turned to buju banto - bang ya head into a brick wall wall and [profanity deleted]..........no oofence intended -- just words have different meanings ........bally sagoo.......maybe he got music videos from 1990 on youtube ?
-snip-
I've not read that "bangarang" means "Asian music" anywhere else.
**
Borka SMU, Feb 8, 2010
"it's bangarang, nor bangarah
bangarang means chaos, mess"
**
ohanselo, Jun 16, 2009
"LOL from the looks of the comments, i dont want to know what bangarang means. but to me this is happy regge, what i like =)) Jamaica no wan no banagrang =)))"
**
raskiny, Jul 21, 2009
"U S A a spread bangarang no doubt about it.if u r a true rastaman u got to support dat view.peace a want"
-snip-
"Peace a want" - I want peace.
**
Nicky RopJul 8, 2011
"YES MON JAMAICA NUH WANT NO BANGARANG FREDDIE MCGREGOR ONE OF TRUEST REGGAE STARS EVER!!"
**
julius muli, Sep 3, 2012
"rasta family in kenya no need no bangarang. one love"
**
Kiprono Mitei, Oct 11, 2012
"BIG UP MAN! WE NO WANT NO BANGARANG"
****
Example #3: Lester Sterling Lloyd Charmers Stranger Cole-Bangarang-And U Roy & Glen Adams -Bangarang Version
mrmsclvr, Uploaded on Jan 17, 2010
From Bunny 'Striker' Lee Story CRCDB3138
-snip-
U Roy & Glen Adams - "Bangarang Version" begins at 2:42 of this sound file.
I don't know when this was recorded.
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Latest revision- July 2, 2024
This post showcases three Reggae records with the title "Bangarang": (1)Lester Sterling & Stranger Cole -"Bangarang"; (2)Freddie McGregor - "Bangarang", and (3) U Roy & Glen Adams - "Bangarang Version".
Selected comments from the discussion thread for the featured Freddy McGregor recording of "Bangarang" are also included in this post. Those comments include the word "bangarang" and often provide a definition for that term (the Caribbean (Jamaican) definition.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/10/bangarang-means-different-things-in.html for a companion post that focuses on the different meanings of the word "bangarang" in Jamaica and in the United States.
The content of this post is presented for etymology, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to these featured vocalists for their musical legacy. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of that video on YouTube.
****
SHOWCASE EXAMPLES
Example #1: Bangarang - Lester Sterling & Stranger Cole
.
jahbuzzz Uploaded on Dec 10, 2010
Bangarang on Original JA Lee [1968]
In late 1968, Lester cut his signature tune "Bangarang." Another Jamaican #1, and hailed as a first Reggae, Ill let Lester tell it. "Well the first part and the inspiration for Bangarang, I make up the bridge, came from Kenny Graham's* Bongo Chant. Me and Rico used to play it from the late 50s when it was on the sound systems. I get the idea from this woman and her daughter. The daughter emigrate to America and then I think she encourage the mother to leave me and emigrate too."
Backup vocals are by Wilburn "Stranger" Cole, Lloyd "Charmers" Tyrell, and Maxwell "Romeo" Smith. There are hundreds, if not thousands of versions of Bangarang, including those by Soul Vendors, Lord Creator, Nitty Gritty, Brigadier Jerry, Lt. Stitchie, and Dillinger.
At the start of Stir It Up! A tv program broadcast by Englands Channel 4 in 1994, producer Bunny Lee is in his Burns Avenue studio in Kingston. Lee picks up a 1/4 inch tape and begins, "Yeah, I want to tell everybody, the whole world, this is the first Reggae tune that was done in Jamaica, see it? It was done in 1968 in Duke Reids studio. I want to play it and mek the whole world hear, Muma no want no Bangarang. It was Lester Sterling, Lloyd Charmers and Stranger Coleis really the emphasis on the organ. Mek the organ go Reggae, Reggae this is the great Bangarang." In the 1982 video production Deeper Roots, also by Channel 4, Lee notes, "same like in the Reggae ting, is a man just bawl out one day, we were having a session, say, make the organ go Reggae, Reggae and the name. Everybody claims the name and they dont even know how it start, right."
In late 1968, Lester [Sterling] cut his signature tune "Bangarang." Another Jamaican #1, and hailed as a first Reggae, Ill let Lester tell it. "Well the first part and the inspiration for Bangarang, I make up the bridge, came from Kenny Dorhams Bongo Chant. Me and Rico used to play it from the late 50s when it was on the sound systems. I get the idea from this woman and her daughter. The daughter emigrate to America and then I think she encourage the mother to leave me and emigrate too."
-snip-
*This corrects the wrong last name that was given in this video's summary. Thanks, Unknown July 2, 2024 for pointing out that error.
****
Example #2: Freddie McGregor - Bangarang
Jens MerleUploaded on Jan 3, 2007
one Artist of the old School Jamicas.
-snip-
I'm not sure when this record was first released.
Here are selected comments from this sound file's discussion thread: [Notice that bangarang is something that nobody wants.]
eego1, 2008
"Respect to Freddie McGregor for this beautiful rendition of Stranger Cole's "Bangarang""
**
EarthV8Jan 26, 2009
"JAMAICA NUH WAN NUH BANGARANG"
-snip-
This is a recurring line in this Freddy McGregor record. The original "Bangarang" record by Lester Sterling and Stranger Cole said "Muma nuh wan nuh bangarang". [Momma don't want no bangarang.]
**
francisco RebeloNeves, 2008
"Michaeljureidini.. you fool.. Do you know what bangarang means? Bangarang > Jamaican slang defined as a hubbub, uproar, disorder, or disturbance. Jah Bless Freddie McGregor"
**
1OLDSKOOL1Feb 3, 2009 in reply to michaeljureidini
"he is saying there is gonna be bangarang but he doesnt want it. bangarang mean disorder and mayhem. he is not endorsing it hes just stating fact. You should've understood what was meant before making such ridiculous comments!!"
-snip-
michaeljureidini's comment is no longer available. I wonder if that blogger wrote something that used the American definitions of "bangarang". According to the American definitions, bangarang is an exclamation indicating approval and/or amazement; and an adjective that means something superlative, "The ultimate in excellence. Better than cool, rad or awesome" [to paraphrase two urbandictionary.com bloggers.] Those meanings were given to that Caribbean word at least by 1991 when the word "bangarang" was used in the American movie "Hook".
At any rate, it doesn't appear that anyone else writing in that discussion thread, with the exception of one other person (whose comment is given below) was aware of this alternate meaning of "bangarang".
**
arshedhussainkadir, Nov 7, 2009 in reply to 1OLDSKOOL1
"1OLDSCOOL.....bangarah..also means asian music ...since 1988 arab, indian tunes got serious rythem ...while reegae turned to buju banto - bang ya head into a brick wall wall and [profanity deleted]..........no oofence intended -- just words have different meanings ........bally sagoo.......maybe he got music videos from 1990 on youtube ?
-snip-
I've not read that "bangarang" means "Asian music" anywhere else.
**
Borka SMU, Feb 8, 2010
"it's bangarang, nor bangarah
bangarang means chaos, mess"
**
ohanselo, Jun 16, 2009
"LOL from the looks of the comments, i dont want to know what bangarang means. but to me this is happy regge, what i like =)) Jamaica no wan no banagrang =)))"
**
raskiny, Jul 21, 2009
"U S A a spread bangarang no doubt about it.if u r a true rastaman u got to support dat view.peace a want"
-snip-
"Peace a want" - I want peace.
**
Nicky RopJul 8, 2011
"YES MON JAMAICA NUH WANT NO BANGARANG FREDDIE MCGREGOR ONE OF TRUEST REGGAE STARS EVER!!"
**
julius muli, Sep 3, 2012
"rasta family in kenya no need no bangarang. one love"
**
Kiprono Mitei, Oct 11, 2012
"BIG UP MAN! WE NO WANT NO BANGARANG"
****
Example #3: Lester Sterling Lloyd Charmers Stranger Cole-Bangarang-And U Roy & Glen Adams -Bangarang Version
mrmsclvr, Uploaded on Jan 17, 2010
From Bunny 'Striker' Lee Story CRCDB3138
-snip-
U Roy & Glen Adams - "Bangarang Version" begins at 2:42 of this sound file.
I don't know when this was recorded.
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
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